A Tale With A Cat Attached!
by Reinbeauchaser
Summary: A woman, retired and new to living in the Massachusetts countryside, discovers she's not as secluded as she first thought.  A tale about a woman, a cat, and four turtles.  OCLeoDon centric.
1. Not Alone As First Thought

_**Disclaimer - **Yes, I don't own them. _

_Although it's a dangerous thing to begin any fan fiction with what appears to be an OC and have that OC dominate a story for the first few chapters, bear with me, my friends; the turtles WILL make an appearance; I promise:0) _

_Italics for thoughts, flashback, dreams, phone conversations, IRS audits, and margaritas. _

_Well, maybe not margaritas...or the audit. :0) _

**A Tale With a Cat Attached **

_by reinbeauchaser _

**Chapter 1 - Not As Alone As First Thought **

The summer sun peaked steadily over forested hills, its silvery presence bringing a promise of long hours of daydreams and lazy afternoons. Following its ancient course, the celestial disc edged higher into the azure-purple sky until it freed itself from the tenacious grip of the mountainous horizon below. Its sudden brightness became a stark contrast to the surrendered night and drenched the countryside in colors of pinkish-orange and gold, before giving way to lemony yellows. Slowly, with the convergence of cooler air and the warming rays, the change formed mist in the hollows, creating an ethereal quality and beauty to the Massachusetts landscape.

Beneath the rising sun, a solitary house sat among hundreds of acres. Its easterly face basked within the early morning rays, while on its westernmost side shadows ran deep. They were many and determined but none prevailed against the persistent glow of the ancient star. Before long, the field and wood behind the home radiated with light. Wheat grass now erupted into a blaze of buttery hues and peridot greens, the colors spreading out in glad welcome. Like countless times before it, once again, another day had dawned.

Behind the house and nestled onto her porch chair sat a woman gazing contentedly at her property. With a cup of tea in hand, she leaned casually against the backrest, her feet resting atop the railing of her porch in front of her. Bits of grass decorated her sneakers, remnants from the chore she had moments earlier completed. She was half-way through her break, a respite from mowing her lawn. Now, she studied the freshly clipped grass the way an artist would assess their work and smiled as the solid green velvet stretched flawlessly for twenty yards, before merging with the taller grasses of the fenced, five-acre pasture where her horse grazed.

Marie couldn't help but sigh contentedly with her new life in the country.

Alongside her house, fragrant gardenias and honeysuckle came eagerly to the woman's senses, filling her with peace. She sighed again and closed her eyes to savor the moment.

Suddenly, a familiar sound broke through her reverie. Marie's eyes snapped open, expectant, just in time to see the arrival of her resident bluebird. Announcing its presence in song, the creature dipped and soared from the woods backing the woman's property, calling out its morning welcome as it flew along. It soon darted and flitted through the pasture in search of breakfast, iridescent cerulean feathers bold against the verdant green. Like clockwork, the bird appeared at the same time each morning and each morning Marie made sure to witness its arrival. He gave permanence to her, an assurance of stability.

His hunt for nourishment, however, reminded Marie that she had yet to get her own and her stomach growled in protest.

Then, stirred from the sudden change of cool evening to warm morning, the soft caress breezes whispered past. They tenderly kissed Marie's face, gaining strength with each touch, and abruptly dislodged a strand of her graying hair. She pushed it back and tucked it behind an ear, murmuring, "Might stay up better if I just pin it."

Reaching into her shirt pocket and retrieving the clip she had wisely put there earlier, Marie applied it to the errant lock, securing the strand snugly to her scalp. She then turned to look out across her property again and smiled, taking another sip from her cup of tea.

This was her haven, her nirvana, her peace of mind, a sequestered shelter of one hundred acres surrounded by hundreds more of untamed wildwood. With her house built upon a rise, she could look in every direction with appreciation. After spending a decade researching where to build, she had purchased the property a year earlier. It only took nine months to construct the house and barn and she had only moved in three months ago…yet, it already felt like home.

How long had she dreamt of a place like this, of living out in the country, and away from the kind life that once dominated her? A millennium of years, it seemed, yet here she was, living her days according to how _she_ dictated and not according to anyone else or to any culture's expectations.

As the sudden wind played across the property, the trees west of Marie's right gave answer to it, bowing as one dance partner to the other. The conifers swayed joyously now, their interpretive ballet within the breathy embrace slow and graceful…beautiful, too.

Yet, for Marie, the trees reminded her that they separated her land from that of her closest neighbor.

The woman '_hummed'_ quietly, wondering about them, one of many times she had thought about the farm 'next door', ever since discovering it. It wasn't that she wanted to make friends. No, Marie had tired of the human race and wanted nothing more to do with people, unless they served a purpose. Going to town and shopping, or picking up her mail, was about as close to socializing as she cared to get. After moving into her new home, however, and contrary to what the realtor had told her, much to her surprise she discovered that she indeed had a neighbor and within riding distance, too. Consequently, it didn't sit very well with her.

Despite Maries' best intentions to create a hermitage, the area had a few unwanted surprises for her.

Nevertheless, as she sat there on her porch, sipping her drink, Marie wondered briefly if the owner would sell. Considering its remoteness and derelict condition, it was quite possible that no one lived there anymore.

Interrupting her reflections, she heard Sudan whinny, and then watched as her horse shoved his ebony nose deep into the newer growth of grass just below the taller, older heads. He nickered again, announcing to no one in particular that he had found a ready supply of clover and he ate hungrily, too. Marie chuckled, pleased that her stallion was enjoying the countryside as much as she was.

Once again, someone's hunger reminded her that she needed to think about making breakfast. Yet, she was quite comfortable where she sat and so, despite her stomach's complaint, she silently told it to quiet, again.

Continuing to watch the woods, though, she remarked idly, "I really need to call Mr. Hamilton and see who owns the farm, find out if they want to sell,"

Narrowing her expression towards where she knew the farm to be, _Hmm, all the work I did to make sure of my solitude and…I have neighbors anyway_. She couldn't help but shake her head at the irony.

The larger older residence sat five miles from her property and at the end of a long, dirt road. It was only by chance that she had seen it. The driveway was nothing more than a narrow single-lane, rut and pothole filled strip of road, similar to most driveways out in the country, such as hers. Although Marie had since smoothed out her road, it was because of the similarity and the fact that it connected with the same main highway as hers that she had mistaken it. And Marie was determined that that was one mistake she would never make again.

In any event, when she first bought her land, Marie had been too busy overseeing her home's construction, as well as other aspects to her property. Consequently, she never had a need to travel west, where the farm sat, since the closest town to her was a ten-mile drive in the opposite direction. It bugged her, though, that her realtor hadn't mentioned anything about the farm.

_Maybe he didn't know about it?_ she wondered the next day after her discovery. At least, Marie hoped so. If Mr. Hamilton had duped her, it would only make her angry and that would not bode well for the man at all. Marie didn't take kindly to lies.

As she sat there on the porch and soaked up more of the early morning sun, she thought back to that day, the day she discovered the farm.

It was soon after moving into her newly built home. At the time, she hadn't given much thought to any other part of the countryside; she was far too busy managing the construction crew. Although in the beginning they didn't take her too seriously with her expectations, it didn't take long before her commanding nature and biting tongue had all of the men in line. Stabling Sudan elsewhere until things were ready for him, Marie hadn't even the opportunity to go riding, to explore what lay west of her.

One day, a week after moving in, she decided to explore the part of Massachusetts she hadn't seen yet, to become better acquainted with her new neighborhood. Considering what she used to do for entertainment, it made Marie yearn for a bit of adventure!

She had traveled many miles that day before deciding to head back home. During the late afternoon on her return trip home and as she neared what she perceived to be her driveway, Marie never hesitated when turning onto a familiar looking side road. The entrance looked exactly like hers, with its angled entrance facing east, then turning slightly to run west a bit before turning again towards the south. With thick stands of trees tucked in-between the main road and the driveway, they created a blind, obscuring the mouth of the entrance for anyone traveling from the easterly direction. Driving west, though, it gave a clear shot to the driver. Marie honestly and sincerely believed the turnout leading to the driveway was hers, no question about it. As far as she was concerned, there wasn't any mistaken it for someone else's.

Of course, she could now recognize her driveway from the other, regardless of what direction she drove on the main highway. But, back then, the unexpected occurrence caught her unaware and with Marie, that didn't happen very often.

Nevertheless, at one point when the single-lane road suddenly turned west and continued that way for far longer than Marie had thought was normal, that was when she quickly realized her mistake. Unfortunately, she was already a mile in. The road had become quite narrow at that point, too, with forests of trees hedging its sides. There wasn't enough room to turn around. Her H3 was just too bulky to maneuver in such tight quarters and so she found herself forced to drive until the road widened. It didn't help that ominous rain clouds were filling the sky, either.

_"Great, a storm, just what I need right now."_ she had complained.

With the late afternoon sun dipping below the highest westernmost mountain and with twilight an hour away, the forest canopy overlapped the road so completely, they plunged her drive into intermittent and subdued pre-twilight shadow. With the road's less familiar turns and bends, in order to focus on driving, eventually, Marie kept her headlights on, .

Still, she tried to ignore how tired she was, her thoughts focused on finding a spot to make a turn-around so she could go home. Her fatigue probably had a lot to do with getting lost in the first place, which irritated her. Marie rarely if ever found herself lost - or fatigued. Of course, having to care for a large parcel of land, something she wasn't familiar with managing quite yet, probably had a lot to do with that. After all, she was at an age where most women joined card-playing clubs or retired to villages filled with shuffleboard enthusiasts. She had to laugh at that thought, imagining herself in such a setting.

Suddenly, the road worked around a tight bend and then narrowed even more. Now, Marie had to slow her Hummer to five miles an hour in order to traverse it, with bushes and tree branches rudely scraping into the side of the vehicle. She cringed at the sound of wood against metal, imagining the damage, and she cursed under her breath, not at all happy about the mounting number of scratches.

_Wonder how much that will cost to rub out?_ she growled under her breath.

As the lane straightened out again, a rise greeted her. It traversed over a hill fifty yards ahead and at an approximate twenty-three degree angle. It was steep, but traversable with her H3, yet seemed to be just as tight a 'fit' for her car as the previous part of the road had been. She chuckled under her breath, _No mercy here, it seems._

The abrupt incline made it impossible to see anything at the top, but that didn't worry Marie. After all, the road didn't look that well traveled, so the prospect of meeting another car and at the same time was the furthest thing from Marie's thoughts.

However, just before she began her ascent, a growl sounded from the top of the knoll and then a dark blue van, its headlights off, came barreling over the top of the hill, heading straight at her!

Marie didn't have time to question why it was there; she could only react. In an instant before the two cars collided head-on, instincts took over. With expert reflexes, she turned the steering wheel quickly to the right, driving her car sharply towards the side of the very narrow road. She heard a _ka-thunk_ and a bump and then found herself running towards the trees, her foot on the brake. A second later, she came to a stop.

Heart pumping and eyes wide, Marie found herself wedged between a stand of conifers, inches to spare, but otherwise unscathed, both she and her car. It seemed that right at that point in the road, the forest had thinned and separated, providing an opportunistic opening, thus sparing Marie's car from any other damage, except for the scratches from earlier.

When she looked straight ahead of her and saw a large oak tree staring back at her, just inches from the front of her car, she blew out a relieved breath. Had she not stopped when she did, Marie would have most certainly crashed her car and probably crush the front like an accordion.

She looked in her rearview mirror and saw the van hesitate on the road, not quite coming to a full stop. It was as if the other driver was just as surprised as she was to find a car on the road. He seemed to be unsure how best to react, too. At first, it looked as if he was going to come to a full stop. However, its darkened interior and the shadows on the road effectively obscured the driver, so Marie couldn't tell what he was going to do or even if he was mad.

Just as she opened her door to get out and go over to speak with him, suddenly the van slipped into gear and took off pell-mell down the roughened path, kicking up a cloud of dust, as it headed towards the highway in a desperate rush.

Marie jumped from her car and ran the few feet to the road. Much to her surprise, the van kept on going. Just before it rumbled around the bend, taking the potholes and ruts with bounding frenzy, she caught a glimpse of the rear window. Privacy curtains hung inside, swaying violently from the van erratic movement. Then, just before the vehicle took the turn, someone parted the curtains, but just as quickly, the curtains closed again, as if the someone had a change of mind. Because of the lack of sufficient lighting, Marie couldn't tell what the person looked like or if the person inside was male or female, but it was obvious that whoever they were, they were curious about her.

She watched, then as in the next moment, the van tore into the curve, swallowed up by the forest bordering the road, and disappeared from view.

_Rather strange_, Marie thought to herself, _that they didn't stop. Guess they were in a hurry, or..._ She recalled that they hadn't been using their headlights, so it was possible that they knew the road well.

Returning to her car, Marie checked it for damage. When she found none, other than the scratches from earlier, she turned and faced the road again.

"I wonder if the van hit something in reaction to my being on the road." It would certainly explain what she heard just before tearing into the trees.

Curious, Marie cross the dirt lane and inspected the growth of wood growing on the other side. Not too surprisingly, she found a couple closest to the road with their bark sheared off, as if something - such as a car, or van - had sideswiped it.

"Great…and I just happen to have a car that's easily identifiable, too," she said sorely.

And where the exposed tree trunk showed some of the blue paint from the van, it only proved her assumptions more.

After getting back into her car, Marie sat there, collecting her thoughts, thankful for her quick reactions, and that at least she hadn't crashed. She wondered if maybe the van's driver had taken a wrong turn, just as she had done. Still, the lack of headlights and the way it traveled the road as if familiar with it said otherwise. She wondered if the driver and his passengers lived somewhere up ahead.

That piqued her curiosity.

_At the very least, I can leave my name and number, just in case they want reimbursement for any damage. _

Maybe Marie didn't want any neighbors, but she felt compelled to honor at least her end of the near-collision.

Once putting her car in reverse, she backed out from between the trees and onto the dirt road again. She then drove up the hill in the same direction she had traveled. She was more curious, now, than needing to get home. There was still some daylight out, after all, and despite how tired she felt, the mood for adventure was still strong.

As she drove up the incline and over the rise, the road leveled out, and Marie continued for another hundred yards before her course dipped slightly to the right. It was at that point and in-between trees that the road disappeared. Fresh tire tracks led into the wood, with a cloud of dust settling along the ground, indicating that someone or something had recently passed through. Marie knew, then, that the road hadn't ended, but continued into and through the surrounding forest.

Marie slowed, studying the area. _Hmmm, that's strange._

At the point where the road turned, it ran between an overgrowth of trees crowding the sides, their branches reaching high over the lane and intermingling together like fingers, forming a natural arch. It was far denser than the ones on the road she had passed through earlier. Inside the natural tunnel, dark greeted her and it seemed to run for several yards, the road itself disappearing within the lightless interior. Leaves littered the ground at its mouth, though, as if a great disturbance had occurred.

_Most likely, from the van plowing through it,_ she thought to herself wryly, _and probably by someone familiar with this turn, otherwise they would careen right into the trees on the other side._

Marie stopped her car just short of the arbor. Uncertainty overwhelmed her, now, and she felt a sense of unease. She couldn't place it, but considering the remoteness and solitude of where she was, any number of unsavory scenarios came to mind. If the realtor hadn't known about this place - at least enough to tell Marie it existed - maybe who ever lived here didn't want any kind of attention. Maybe, like her, they had retired from the world and only wanted their solitude. With the way the van had shot down the road, as if quite familiar with every rut and pothole, never bothering to check to see if she was all right, confirmed her suspicions.

Just then, the wind picked up and began jostling the surrounding brush. Marie noticed that the sunlight had faded and even more with the encroaching clouds. In another thirty minutes, night would fall. Rather than press her luck, she decided to turn around and head back to the main highway. Given the kind of road she just traveled, she knew that inclement weather would make it more difficult and dangerous, and the last thing Marie wanted was to find herself stranded and in unfriendly territory.

Suddenly, the breeze kicked it up a notch, bursting into an erratic wind. The trees responded by undulating and parting at odd intervals and Marie knew that the storm wasn't far away.

However, just before she could put her car into reverse and use the arbor as a turn around, the trees directly in front of her separated completely. For a moment, they briefly revealed what lay beyond.

Marie hit the brakes and stared curiously into the natural tunnel. On the other side of the natural arbor, standing two hundred yards away, she could see a two-story farmhouse. The road leading from the arbor spread out into a broad, open area rift with weeds and overgrown brush, causing the house to stand out in stark contrast. The structure appeared quite old, maybe over a hundred years. The last remnants of sunlight did well in illuminating the building, but it wouldn't be long before night claimed her good view. She could also tell that the farmhouse used to be white, but was in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint. Its sagging roofline and run down front porch gave a feeling of abandonment, too, only intensified by the lightless windows. Once more, Marie wondered about the van and its occupants and their living arrangements.

The more she studied the structure, though, the more the woman realized that if anyone did live here, she knew they didn't live well, and maybe poorly enough that someone driving an expensive H3 would become interesting bartering material.

Suddenly, just as quickly as the trees began their dance, the wind settled down and stilled, and their branches came together again, obscuring once more the ancient house. For the second t time, Marie found herself staring into the dark abyss of the nature-made arbor. Although her experience had been a brief, it was just enough to convince her that not only did she have a neighbor within riding, if not walking, distance, more than likely she had just passed them on the road, as well.

_Great and I'm sure that they'll report me to the authorities, now. I mean, how many people around here drive a dark gray H3._

She huffed irritably to herself as she turned her car around. Quickly, Marie headed back towards the main road and once there, hurried on towards hers. This was one more lesson about living out in the country. It wasn't the same as when she lived in the city. At least, there, the cars didn't stand out as easily as hers did, but one still had to be aware of their surroundings, so maybe she could adjust.

It was bad enough that she was new to the area and those in town were well aware of that fact, too. Who knew if the person driving the blue van had already seen her? Maybe they had even shopped in the same store or picked up their mail at the same time? Though Marie tried to blend in, to be as anonymous as she knew how, maybe here - in the country - it wasn't going to be enough.

Anyone different would stick out as a giraffe would in Time Square.

And, now that she had virtually trespassed and caused someone to nearly crash their car, she was certain the owner, if the other driver were the owner, would complain to the local sheriffs. She grumped sourly to herself, not the least bit happy about getting lost, and even less amused that she investigated the area surrounding her property better.

_Maybe I should trade my car in for something…less conspicuous. What was I thinking, getting an H3? Oh, yes, to protect me. Yeah…right! _

In any event, after Marie returned home, she knew she had to think differently, act differently, _and be_ different from how she operated in New York. This was the country, after all, and even though knowing one's surroundings was an idiom for all seasons and places, given her training, she found herself surprisingly out of her comfort zone. More than anything, Marie wanted a peaceful co-existence with those living here, preferably living a life below the proverbial radar, of course. And she was more than certain that disturbing the local population the way she just did certainly wouldn't guarantee that.

When a few days had passed and with no one calling her from the local sheriffs regarding the van, Marie concluded the driver opted for not filing a report. Maybe they had a stronger reason for avoiding the law than in demanding compensation for damage done to their vehicle. In either case, Marie was happy to let things be. After all, interacting with the local authorities would not have been high on _her_ list, either.

Now, weeks later, as she sat on her porch, sipping her tea, watching her horse graze, and reflecting back to that incident, Marie gave another glance past Sudan's pasture.

_Seems I should have been more thorough when scoping this place out,_ she huffed to herself.

Suddenly, a butterfly flew past Marie's line of sight, distracting her from her thoughts. It flew on to the various flowers and brush planted alongside her house.

_A blue Eastern-Tailed_, Marie assessed silently, smiling just a little. She loved living so close to nature, with its varied collection of animals and insects. This particular one and other like it had become more frequent in recent days and she wondered if maybe her property sat within its migration path. There seemed to be so many of the beautiful, jeweled insect.

As the butterfly bounced from bush to bush, its vibrant blue and black coloring contrasted brightly against the whiteness of the gardenias and honeysuckles. Then, the creature reminded Marie of yet another incident and one that had more mystery surrounding it than that of the van…or even the farm.

And she was still unsure about what she had seen that day, too. Many thoughts about the event plagued her over the past several weeks, sometimes waking her up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. But, to believe it to be more than just another Eastern blue-tailed seemed ludicrous. She had to laugh at herself, at her paranoia.

_Ridiculous that they would be out here. Stupid even to consider it! They're probably dead, anyway, _she muttered softly and quickly downed the rest of her tea.

As the woman stood up to go back inside her house, she gave one last hardened look towards the wildwoods. She languished there, staring, her eyes piercing, her face narrowing, wondering about her past, hoping that it would remain that way, done, forgotten, and preferably dead.

Sudan's sharp whinny suddenly interrupted her thoughts, though. She turned towards her horse and watched as he collapsed to the ground, and then rolled about on his back. His legs kicked and thrashed and dust billowed all around him, and he grunted pleasurably, too, thoroughly enjoying himself. Yet, just as quickly as he had gone to ground, he was up again, and shaking the residue of dirt and grass from his body. She had to smile at his antics, but Marie's newly formed bad mood prevailed. With another glance at the trees, the woman turned and marched inside her house to fix breakfast, her joy replaced with one of foreboding.

As the woman slipped through her back door and into the house, a figure in the woods watched from the safety of deep shadows. He heard the horse neigh heartily in her wake, probably hoping for a treat of some kind, but when his owner failed to reappear, the Arabian gave up and began grazing again.

Long after the woman had vacated her porch the figure continued to observe the property, his eyes keen on the house, his own position tucked safely within the forest. He neither moved nor flinched, but kept as still as stone. He did release an almost inaudible sigh, though, still unsure about this woman, this neighbor of his. Since his near encounter with her on the road and then in the forest a week later, he made a habit of visiting this spot, an area in the woods bordering her land that afforded him the most cover with the best view. From here, he could watch her undiscovered as she went about her business. He watched her work, he watched her interact with the horse, and at times during the night, he would steal his way to a window to observe her undetected. As far as he was concerned, this woman lived far too close to his farm. It had been a rude awakening, something that hadn't been expected.

_After all these years…_he lamented and shook his head.

Still, there was one thing bothering him. Why would a woman her age willingly take on such a task as caring for not only a horse, but for such a large parcel of land? Managing a hundred acres, after all, was a young person's job. By his observation and in contrast, she was elderly in appearance, or at least in her fifties; that is if her graying hair was a clue. He truly felt she should have taken up residence in a retirement home, not a house out here in the country and far from any concerned neighbor. Although, if he was truly honest with himself, his main concern was more for his own peace of mind and sense of privacy than whether or not this woman should live out in the wilds of Massachusetts.

In any event, there was something about the woman that wasn't right, he could feel it.

Finally, when he was certain that the woman would stay inside, the figure quietly retreated. For a few yards, he walked backwards, each step silent and sure, his path well memorized. Keeping his eyes and ears alert for any movement or sound from the house, when he felt it safe to do so, the shadowed figure turned and then quickly jogged back to his home, five miles away, to give his brothers an update on the woman, boring as it was.

_TBC _


	2. Unnatural and Unsettling Sounds

**_DISCLAIMER - _**_I only own the birds and squirrels, nothing else.And it bears repeating that I have not forgotten the TMNT's. They'll soon be part of the story, but this chapter grew beyond what I felt was a comfortable length for a chapter, so…I've split it in two. And for those curious, the CAT will make its appearance in chapter 3. In the meantime, I'm focusing on building up to that event. _

x x x x x x x

**Chapter 2 - Unnatural and Unsettling Sounds**

"Sudan, you make such a **_mess. _**The storm wasn't that bad, was it?"

Her horse nickered, as if apologizing, and then nuzzled Marie's pants pocket as she led him out of his stall.

"No, I don't have any sugar," Marie pushed his head away and laughed, "but I do wish you'd learn to like storms. I guess that's asking a lot from you, though, isn't it?"

Sudan snorted and swished his tail, stating his opinion on the subject.

Marie gave his stall a second glance, though, and shook her head, before glaring at the stallion again, "What were you trying to do, dig a hole to China?" She sighed in resignation, "Well, at least you didn't kick your crud into the corridor; otherwise I'd have a bigger mess to clean up." The woman scratched his neck affectionately, getting a grunt of pleasure from the horse and then led him out of the barn, "I guess it's the little things we have to be grateful for, right, Sudan?"

The horse snorted and pranced sideways a bit when he realized where Marie was leading him. His restricted momentum, due to Marie holding onto his lead, forced his glossy black haunches around so that he now sidestepped next to his owner.

"Hey, back in line, you show off!" Marie gave a firm jerk of the strap and the horse obediently complied, siding compliantly next to his owner again, "Good boy," she cooed and gave his muzzle a vigorous rub.

The moment he saw his pasture, though, Sudan began pulling on the rope, eager to get going.

"Okay, okay, we'll get there," Marie assured him as she took the horse over to the opened gate, leading him through. Once she had him well inside his five-acre enclosure and had him facing the farthest end, she unbuckled his halter, and slipped it off. One playful slap along the shoulder had the horse bolting across the meadow, with Marie calling after him, "Go run off some of that energy, you silly horse."

Marie watched and smiled as the stallion raced away, but hesitated just a little before turning heel to go and clean out his stall. She loved watching him run; for her it was poetry in motion.

Flagging his tail proudly as he ran, Sudan held his head high, his ears pricked forward. While he raced across the turf, his stride lengthened out, sending him shooting across his large enclosure with rapid acceleration. Midway through his pasture, the land dipped downhill for a bit and he quickly disappeared from Marie's view for just a moment. A second later, she saw the horse gallop up the far side, his mane waving wildly behind him.

Just before Sudan reached the farthest end of his pasture, though, he slid to stop, almost sitting on his haunches. Bits of grass and dust billowed up all around and then he turned sharply to his right to race north along the westernmost fence. Half way to the end of where it would have angled back towards Marie, Sudan slowed to a long-striding trot. Now, he pranced along, keeping his tail high and well over his haunches in proud display. He hooked his head in the typical fashion of his breed and then Sudan snapped it up to let out a deep, sustained, neigh. The sound resonated and echoed over the countryside. Before reaching the northernmost fence, he came to a quick stop. With pink nostrils flaring and his ears alert, Sudan stood as if waiting for an answer.

He whinnied again and it was long and sharp, and then snorted, as if hearing a reply to his 'good morning' proclamation, uttered somewhere miles away. Marie hadn't heard anything, but then Sudan's hearing was far better than her own, After he bellowed out another piercing call, albeit shorter in length, the horse snorted again and shook his head, then resumed his march around the field.

Considering the storm during the night and with Sudan confined to his double stall, Marie knew that it was essential for him to work off any pent up energy. That is, if she was going to have a good ride later on. Otherwise, she would be handling an anxious and very high-spirited animal. Although Marie had paid to have Sudan well trained, he was still an Arabian and a stallion.

Before long, he finally settled down and went about the business of grazing. That was Marie's cue to slip out of the pasture, secure the gate, before going back to the barn to clean up Sudan's nighttime mess.

An hour later found both horse and rider a half mile from home. They took their time as Sudan picked his way through the underbrush of wildwood behind Marie's property. With the sun an hour shy of noon and with a breeze blowing through, it promised to be a good day for riding.

Marie didn't know if she was in the wildwoods, or her neighbor's property, but in that moment, she didn't really care. She was at peace and loving every second of it. The weather was warm, too, and maybe a bit humid, but the gentle wind cooled things off rather nicely. With her graying hair pinned up in a bun, Marie was quite comfortable. Normally, she would have worn a long-sleeved shirt, but today seemed best enjoyed with a short-sleeved version, and properly tucked into her pair of black riding breeches. With her booted feet snug in the stirrups, she sat deep in the saddle, and allowed Sudan the freedom to choose his trail. Marie felt relaxed and at peace.

Sudan seemed at ease, too, not the least bit antsy, as he had been earlier. He wore the bit without chaffing, his excess energy spent, so he now behaved the way a seasoned trail horse should. He walked confidently and without spooking, taking to the backcountry as if he had been born to it. Marie marveled at his genteel nature when under tack, a true testament to not only his breeding, but his training, too. At ten years of age, Sudan had matured into a capable and trustworthy steed.

Around noon, they stopped for lunch. Tethering her horse to a low-hanging tree branch, Marie spread along the leafy ground a blanket she had brought along and then sat down to eat.

While her horse grazed and as she ate her sandwich, Marie allowed the forest sounds to envelop her. Eventually, she found herself reflecting on her new life in the country. She was certain that it was the perfect way to spend ones later years. Here she did not have to contend with an endless line of city traffic or forced by tradition to appease people and their expectations. Here, the pristine nature of her surroundings gave her a peace and solitude that her badgered spirit begged for, pleaded for, and demanded. For once in her life, Marie felt whole and complete.

And, she had finally accepted the fact that she had neighbors, too, content to know that at the very least, they kept their business to themselves. Whoever they were, they were not a people who complained. The fact that they didn't file a report with the local authorities about her trespassing said as much. She could live with neighbors like that.

However, in her moment of reflecting, a more recent memory of an event came to mind. Her present location reminded Marie about what had happened that day, shortly after her wrong turn down someone else's driveway. It was a recollection that had bothered her frequently ever since, too.

Sitting there on her blanket and with Sudan pulling up tufts of grass had brought it all back to her. Abruptly she felt a shiver run up her spine and she had to laugh at herself, amused with the sensation, that she would allow something such a simple memory to bother her. Marie knew she was tougher than that, at least in her younger days she was, and not prone to letting things get to her, at least not with the way some things had, lately. She chaffed and mentally chastised herself a little, as it was not normal for her to feel so…unsettled.

_Must be a sign of old age_, she finally reasoned and harrumphed in annoyance.

Nevertheless, IT had happened a month earlier and on a day much like today. And, like today, she had taken Sudan out for a ride, to explore the area. Just like now, she had brought her lunch along, too. Although where she sat presently was in a different part of the woods, she couldn't help but eye the shadows with much suspicion. She glanced over and watched Sudan. She saw him grazing contentedly, not the least bit concerned, far more interested in eating than with any uncertainty his owner obviously had. As he pulled at the grass, Marie knew that if there was something to worry about, Sudan would alert her instantly, just as he did the first time. She smiled at him, relieved to know she had her very own personal alarm system with her.

After she had finished her meal and with her horse standing at ease next to her, Marie relaxed a little more. Other than the occasional birdsong and whisper of wind passing through the branches far above, she heard no other sound. Satisfied she was indeed alone Marie reclined along her blanket and stretched out on her back. After slipping both arms under her head to pillow them, she stared up at the leafy canopy far above. She watched as birds flew about, calling to one another with melodious singing. She saw a squirrel dart along a tree limb, too, followed by a second one. Marie sighed, content.

_This is as near to Nirvana as one could be_, she thought wistfully.

Before long, though, Marie found herself yawning and soon closed her eyes. A few minutes later, she fell asleep.

She didn't know how long she had slept, but Sudan's nervous snort woke her instantly.

The woman bolted straight up into a sitting position, her eyes wide. Fully awake, now, she took in her immediate surroundings and considered every shadow, every dark recess, yet she saw nothing but trees. Sudan snorted again and she could tell that he seemed interested in something ahead of them. He stood there, ears alert, nose quivering, and his eyes pointing northwest… and in the direction of Marie's only neighbor.

_Not again,_ she groaned.

Sudan's skin began to ripple along his shoulders with uncertainty, now, yet he seemed more curious than fearful, which gave Marie some sense of relief.

_You interested in something, boy? _she asked softly, reaching over to stroke his near foreleg. Sudan snorted again, confirming her query.

Concerned, Marie stared in the same direction as her horse. With the neighboring farm more than two miles away from where she sat, even with Sudan's keen hearing, anything happening there would be too far to justify his interest. Of course, if they had horses, mares to be exact, and one or more were in season…that would be another matter all together. Marie smiled and looked up at Sudan, teasing, "You smell a girlfriend, fella?"

Sudan snorted once more and stamped his left hoof impatiently.

Marie knew that certain scents like mares in heat drifted for a long ways in the country and she wondered if her horse would bolt. Fortunately, he didn't, but he did continue staring off into the woods.

Marie was certain, now, that whatever had bothered him seemed closer to their position than the farm. As it did with Sudan, this piqued her curiosity.

Continuing to sit there for a moment, though, Marie pondered her situation. She could ignore it, but then she wasn't one who ignored gut instinct. After a moment, she finally realized that sitting there was not going to give her any answers.

With a resigned sigh, "Well, I better go and see what it is, eh Sudan?"

Her horse nickered a little, as if concurring with her decision, so Marie stood up and made sure that his tie would hold. She then reached into her saddlebag to retrieve a few carrots for him and tossed them along the ground. When Sudan began rooting for the vegetables, Marie turned heel and walked cautiously into the denser part of the forest.

She stepped softly, silently, careful not to crush leaf or fallen branch with her riding boots. It was a task to do, too, considering the unforgiving nature of her footwear against the leaf-strewn forest floor, but years of knowing how to move about soundlessly paid off. In truth, it was almost second nature for her, something Marie did without even thinking about it, except for now. Now she deliberately tried to step quietly.

As she walked, she listened for anything out of the ordinary, certain that her horse would not have been so bothered if it hadn't heard something unusual. She looked back towards Sudan, to make sure he was all right with her leaving him behind. When she saw the horse still nosing the ground for more carrots, she smiled, _Well_,_ I guess whatever you heard it can't be that serious._

She then looked straight ahead again and worked her way through the woods.

The farther in Marie walked, the more numerous the trees became and the woman quickly found that she had to weave and slip her way in-between them. With the brush becoming denser, as well, she had to be extra cautious not only to minimize the sound of her passing, but in leaving no evidence behind. She gently pushed between brush and tree, making sure not to bend or break either leaf or branch. Once she had passed through, the brush would return to its original position, as intact as it had been before. One more time, her old training aided her and Marie's confidence blossomed.

Nonetheless, she knew that whatever or whoever had piqued Sudan's curiosity, she would come upon them undetected. It helped considerably that because of the almost impenetrable canopy of leaves above, where she walked the shadows were quite deep. They effectively hid her progress through the woods. Each step she took, the shadows deepened and surrounded Marie with a comforting dark. Her eyes adjusted accordingly and soon, she could see the underworld of the forest realm.

The breeze continued to play through the forest, too, whispering against her face as it made its way southeast towards Sudan. She smiled, knowing that she would approach upwind of what or who had garnered her horse's interest.

Still, as the wind blew through the trees, the limbs high above danced about, parting now and then with annoying infrequency. Their interruption allowed intermittent shots of light to penetrate the shadowed world below. Her path would then suddenly brighten, but then go dark again, brighten and go dark. It was rather striking to find herself exposed so unexpectedly and at random, too, but it did illuminate a world of green monochromatic hues. It was all very beautiful and reminded her of elves and fairies and nymphs, but she dismissed such thoughts. She wasn't one for fantasy and Marie worried more that the light would betray her presence, than give her flights of fancy. Consequently, she kept her mind on her task, ready in an instant to slip behind a tree or a bush, if called upon to hide.

Listening to the chirp and rasp of birds and the buzz of insects, Marie likened their sound to nature's version of white noise. And, it didn't take too much time for her to familiarize herself with their variety, either. Soon, she filtered them out and listened for anything out of the ordinary, something not akin to the forest.

A minute later and as she came around a natural outcropping of rock, she heard another sound. It was faint, metallic, and far ahead of her, but definitely out of the ordinary. Instantly, it captured Marie's curiosity.

_That does not sound natural,_ she ascertained, but before she could determine what it was, the noise seemed to discontinue suddenly. Marie ceased walking. She stood there, still and silent, but after a few minutes passed without hearing the sound again, she progressed farther into the woods, albeit slower.

The woman traveled possibly another fifty yards before the sound began again. She hesitated, now, standing rigid as stone, before turning and quirking her head a bit to gain better reception. Then, the noise seemed to stop a second time.

_Strange_, she thought curiously.

There were numerous trees before her, blocking much of Marie's view of the forest, so whatever was there, more than likely it couldn't see her, either. However, she did spy a break in the stand, just to her left. There, a tall growth of brush grew, facing her area of interest. The foliage stood just in front of a broad based tree, providing plent of cover for both front and back.

Quickly, she slipped between the two and found herself well hidden from anyone's curious eyes. Peering between a less dense part of the bush, Marie could see the area ahead of her quite well, now. It was a perfect She waited. A minute passed and then another before the sound began again.

_Schwiiing…schwiiing…schwiiing, schwaang…_

It had a bell-like, musical tone, and seemed patterned, yet subdued, like a thin piece of metal cutting sharply through the air, but in rhythmic intervals. It wasn't close to where she hid, but seemed to come from farther into the woods, maybe a hundred yards in front of her. Marie closed her eyes to sharpen her hearing, to pinpoint not only its location, but also what was making the sound.

After a moment, her eyes snapped open and her lips tightened. The sound seemed more than familiar to her. She had heard it before, years ago, and on more than a few occasions. Her heart leapt to her throat and her breath hitched in surprise,and then Marie berated herself for such a reaction. It wasn't like her to feel that way.

_I must be getting _**old, **she complained silently, _to react like _**that**_ over - what? A **SOUND**? Ridiculous! _

Yet, as the metallic noise continued, Marie became more convinced of her assumptions. Suddenly, a particular memory resurfaced, one she hadn't thought of in many years. Along with it came a feeling of frustration and anger. In the next instant, she gave a near silent snort and determinedly pushed it back, rejecting it. This was not like her at all, not one bit and so she narrowed her expression even more and stared intently towards the trees ahead of her. She listened and swallowed nervously but decided not to berate herself again. Pushing her feelings aside for the moment, Marie knew that there was something more important to deal with than a simple reaction.

Then, as she dispensed of the unsettled feelings, before she could determine the nature of the sound, it stopped for a third time. A long pregnant pause followed that allowed the forest to intrude into her inspection. It wrapped her in birdsong and the chatter of squirrels and the surf-like sound of the breeze as it played through the trees. Like a comforting blanket, it enfolded itself around her and, for a blessed moment, she wondered if that was the end of it. Maybe the noise was nothing more than branches scrapping against branches - or a tree, or even rocks. She recalled the outcropping behind her and figured there must be more like it up ahead. After all, there was a wind; it would explain much.

Yet, despite her reasoning and her common sense, Marie hoped it _would_ be the end of it. She did not like what she was feeling or what her instincts were telling her. And if she had to be honest, what she really wanted to do was to run - and that aggravated her even more.

Marie never ran, unless prudence said otherwise and only if one's life was at stake. So far, though, nothing had threatened her but her silly imagination.

Abruptly, the metallic singing began all over again and for a few minutes, resonated through the air as it did before, only louder this time, more enthusiastically. Marie's eyes widened considerably and she knew, absolutely, what it was. Still, there was just enough doubt to cause her to second-guess herself.

_It…can't be, can it?_

Nevertheless, Marie knew beyond any doubt that whatever it was, the noise was not natural, at least not here in the woods! Her breath stilled and she swallowed again. She felt her heart race and she anxiously wondered how in hell they could have found her.

Instinctively, she reached around to the back of her waistband only to growl in sudden annoyance, _Great, just great…out here by myself with no weapon at all_. _I can't believe this! I'm not old, I'm…SENILE!_ She would have punched the tree behind her, too, but refrained from doing so. Now was not the time to lose control.

Weaponless and at the mercy of whatever was in the forest with her, Marie stared at the trees with deadly intent. She nervously bit the inside of her cheek and hoped that she was wrong about her assumptions.

Still, something deep inside of her, something instinctive and based on many years of experience, told Marie that whatever she heard was not natural and, even worse, that her assumptions were indeed correct.

x x x x x x x x

**TBC**


	3. Butterflies and Kitty Cats

**_DISCLAIMER - _**_Yes, another update.__ Go me. :0) As before, I only own Sudan - and the house - and the Blue Eastern Tailed Butterfly. Why don't I own Marie? Well...that's a secret, my friends. Bwahahahaha!_

x x x x x x x

**Chapter 3 - Butterflies and Kitty Cats**

Marie continued to listen to the sound, her mind whirling with uncertainty. Once again, she chaffed over her reaction and her lack of preparation.

_This is not how I was trained_, she growled, _I'm better than this, stronger than this._ Worse, she knew that if her father was still alive and was there with her, he would not approve, either, which only made her more irritable.

Then again, Marie had to appreciate that it had been decades since she last had the need for a weapon, so she cut herself some slack. She took in a deep, measured breath and slowly, silently released it. For a moment, she felt better, yet the underlying feeling of dread, of anxiousness still rose like sour bile in the pit of her stomach. She pushed it aside, though, to focus on the forest ahead of her.

The more Marie listened, the more she knew that she had to find some sort of weapon, anything with which to defend herself. While the faint shrill of metal cut through forest air, Marie searched her immediate area for something to use and beamed when she spied a branch lying along the ground. It was three inches thick and about four feet long. It wasn't as straight as she would have liked it, where it crooked about two-thirds of the way down its length, with one end torn, as if something or someone had deliberately or in passing ripped it from the tree behind her. Still, it was better than nothing.

She carefully picked it up, minimizing all sound, and assessed its worthiness. Where the open wound of the branch had dried, it frayed out fan-like. It had obviously lain on the ground for a while. Whoever or whatever had torn it from its host tree had done so long before that day. Although it wasn't applicable for impaling, the stick was still long and thick enough to do some damage if pressed to do so.

Marie then peered through the bush again towards the forest ahead of her.

The sound continued, but more intermittingly, now, as if whatever made it seemed unsure. It rose in pitch, then softened, rose and softened, and would stop for a second, only to start up again. It didn't sound at all natural, but - more planned in execution.

Her curiosity growing, Marie studied the forest intently. Not quite a hundred yards in front of her, she noticed that the trees there grew closer together than where she hid. It was darker, too, with the trees pressed so tightly together that they made a natural amphitheater. Much to her delight, the side facing her sported an opening and one wide enough for someone to walk easily through. More importantly, it sounded as if the noise emanated from inside.

Intently, Marie stared into the darkened void. The more she evaluated the sound, though, the more she was certain it was coming from the natural amphitheater.

The bell-like noise stopped suddenly and in its ceasing, Marie's eyes widened. Surely, whoever was in among the trees ahead had sensed her presence. Then, the breeze buffeting her face increased in strength and, as it did, it bothered the upper branches of the trees. It was just enough to allow the briefest of sunlight to knife down through the forest. Pencil thin fingers of sunlight betrayed the shadows with intermittent rhythm, dancing sporadically along the ground and, once again, Marie held her breath and waited, watching, anticipating.

Unfortunately, the same breeze that bothered the amphitheater trees also bothered the bush in front of her. Just as light would have fallen over the darkened interior of the enclosure, she found her own view suddenly blocked.

_Damn_ she seethed under her breath, moving to the right a little more in order to get a better look. Unfortunately, in that instant, the breeze seemed to calm and she found to her disappointment that, whatever was inside the natural enclosure, once again found itself hidden within the dark embrace of shadows.

Suddenly, as if appeasing her curiosity, the breeze picked up again, and the tops of the trees swayed once more. Marie held her breath for the second time. Her eyes widened and she leaned slightly forward on the balls of her feet, watching the forest ahead of her. What she saw next was quick, but before the wind died down again, out from the dark confines of the nestled trees, Marie saw blue. It was brief and thin, long, too, and it seemed to hover about five feet from the ground, floating among the branches and leaves like ribbons. Then, just as quickly, it whipped back into the shadows again, disappearing altogether.

Yet, despite the quickness of its retreat, the distinctive color gave Marie a sense of deje vu and her heart leapt to her throat once more.

_No, not here, they can't be here._ _They can't…be alive, can they?_

She could barely entertain the thought and in an act of total denial, Marie decided that it must have been an Eastern Tailed butterfly, a slew of them in fact. After all, she had seen quite a few, recently, so it wouldn't be too surprising if she found one, or several, out here in the woods. They had probably congregated out her among the trees, safe inside the enclosure from predators. That had to be it.

Then, as if in answer to her hypersensitive concerns, three flew out from the very spot where she had previously stared…and she smiled, expressing a long, suffering breath in relief.

_Yes, that has to be it, it can't be anything else_, she chuckled, amused with herself, _I really must be getting old, to become so worked up over a…a color. _

Nonetheless, she continued staring at the spot from where the butterflies had flown, thinking about too many old memories. Before long, a bead of perspiration formed on her brow.

_Going to be a warm one, today,_ she mused idly, but she knew she was nervous. She resisted wiping the moisture away, though. Training, once again, had taught her that. When in the presence of suspicious activity, minimize all unnecessary movement.

Still, the image refused to dissipate, the color she had seen too unusual and familiar for it to be just butterflies, the blue far too unique and unnatural.

_Why a string of butterflies and then only three emerging from that very spot_?

Marie truly believed that there should have been more and she wondered as to where the others had gone. She looked around, but failed to find even one other insect like what she saw. The three were now long gone, probably in search of food or mates or maybe one was female with the others male and in pursuit.

Just the same, the whole experience puzzled her. The more Marie thought about it, the more it seemed implausible that what she saw, the larger part of what she saw, was just three small butterflies. The color she saw was slightly bluer and more ribbon in shape and not that of a winged insect. It was much bigger. How many of the winged insects would it take to make a ribbon anyway?

Once more, Marie stared at the shadowed area, hoping to see the color and the ribbon again, but whatever it was, after some minutes had passed, it seemed like a one-time deal. The sound appeared to have stopped, too, and, unless she went in and investigated the area, Marie would never know for sure what had made it.

_Maybe it would be wise just to let it go, _she wondered thoughtfully.

She continued standing there, though, debating with herself as to what to do. She looked again at the closely-knit circular gathering of trees, the shadow within dark and foreboding. Had she not left Sudan tied up, Marie would have marched right up to the area in question, stick in hand, and demand that the shadows release their mystery. She then had to wonder what she would do if her greatest fear proved true? Right now, no threat presented itself and maybe there wasn't any to begin with.

_Must truly be getting old_, she grumped and then snorted, _Need to stop telling myself that, otherwise I'll start believing it!_

Regardless, the woman chose to let it be. To leave Sudan tied up indefinitely wouldn't be fair to the horse, so, Marie made her way back through the forest to where she left him. After gathering up her picnic supplies and repacking her saddlebags, she mounted her horse, and headed home….

And through her dream-like haze, Marie heard a horse nickering, followed by a breathy wet something playing along her cheek.

When she woke up, she found herself staring up at a distorted view of Sudan, his dark eyes bright and inquisitive, his snout blowing warmly against her face. He gave her a lick along her cheek before retreating to graze some more.

"Thanks for the wake up call, sweetie." Marie sat up and blinked, wiping Sudan's grassy kiss from her face. While the stallion grazed, Marie sat there upright on her blanket, trying to rid her mind the remnants of her dream.

When she realized that it was indeed just a dream and the same one she seemed to be having a lot of, lately, she mumbled, "Great, just great…all I need is another reminder about that day."

She quickly felt her waistband along her side and fingered the short, sheathed knife she kept there. Since her strange encounter in the woods weeks earlier, she took it with her whenever she went riding. Marie looked over at her horse and let out a relieved breath, thankful that at the very least, whatever had happened a month earlier, it wasn't making an encore presentation.

It had only been a dream and a reoccurring one, no less.

Just the same, Marie's mood for trailblazing had soured considerably and now all she wanted to do was to go home. It was bad enough that she had them at night while sleeping. To be beleaguered with it while napping during the day was just over the top, as far as she was concerned. Grumping to herself about the unfairness of it all, Marie packed up the remains of her picnic, rolled up her blanket, and secured it to the back of her saddle. After tightening the cinch to make sure the saddle wouldn't slip, once she had the lead rope wound up and hung over the horn, she hooked a foot into the stirrups. In one fluidic motion, she was astride Sudan.

Reining her horse in the direction of home and with the wind in her face, Marie announced, "Well, boy, guess it's time we head back."

And so, they did.

As horse and rider rode east and away from the woods, a familiar figure of the forest watched from deep within the thick stand of ancient oak and pine. Buffeted by the easterly breeze, he remained as still as any tree, as quiet as any stone...and holding tightly in his hand the tails of his bandanna. He cursed the idea of wearing it this day, but then...how would he have known that someone else would have been in the woods with him.

He didn't.

When the woman and her mount disappeared down a grade and swallowed up by wildwoods, he continued to watch, his senses on high alert. Had she felt his presence or if the wind changed direction and her horse sensed him, she could double back to investigate. He would not be caught unawares again.

The woman had already proven herself far too curious for his liking, and so he remained cautious. Much to his chagrin, she was making more forays into the woods and this bothered him greatly. It meant that from now on, he and his brothers would have to curtail their movements, something that they never had to do before, not here, anyway, certainly not in a long while. He sighed unhappily, not the least bit pleased with this woman. Yet, what could he do? If he tried to intimidate her or scare her, she could get the local authorities involved. Leo could already tell that this woman would not scare easily. He had certainly seen his share of them in his long life. His first clue was when they almost crashed into her on the road leading to his home. Initially, he and the others had been surprised. It had been years since anyone outside of his immediate family and friends had ventured along the rutted driveway, not since the investment broker, anyway. In fact, it was a miracle that Don didn't crash the van outright when they came over the hill.

There was much debate afterwards, of course, about how fast he had been driving, but who would have thought that another car would be on the road? That was Don's excuse, anyway, although Raph had argued the point.

_Raph, of all people, to worry about caution?_ Leo shook his head and wondered about how much his brother had changed, about how much all of them had changed, but they had matured, and grown up, too, so maybe it wasn't so strange. By human standards, they were 'middle-aged men', now. Leo chuckled silently, _Middle-aged, imagine that!_

Then, a week after nearly crashing into her car, the same woman came close to discovering him while he was out training. Leo's surprise had quickly turned to irritation. It was only by chance that he had decided to train inside the confines of the closely-knit trees, rather than where he usually worked. Had it not been for that…he shuddered to think what that would have started.

In any event, doing his kata within the tight quarters of the natural amphitheater was something that Leonardo liked doing, if only to enhance confined-space sparing, not that he had any reason to. It had been decades since he or his family had last fought, so other than keeping in shape, katas were rather useless out here in the country. Still, regardless of how old he was or how long it had been since he last went to battle, training for Leo was as natural as breathing and he would do it until age, or his death, made it impossible.

Just the same, Leo knew that he would definitely have to keep an eye on their neighbor, but for now, he had a task to do.

Klunk had once again wandered off and his brothers - especially Mike, were counting on him to find the wayward and wanderlust kitten.

**x x x x x x x **

Marie stood on her porch, pensive, staring out across her back lawn towards her horse, a glass of iced tea in hand. The sun was halfway to twilight and Sudan grazed in his pasture, more relaxed than he had been that morning. The ride had been good for him, even though it left an anxious aftertaste in Marie. She would have liked to convince herself that the occurrence four weeks earlier had just been her imagination and nothing more, but the dream always refreshed her memory. And she was like that, dreaming dreams of facts and not that of phantasmic visions, but actual events that happen to her. There were some variations, a color, a scent, a scene, but the crux of the dream always remained true. It was a gift most times, where it strengthened her recollections, giving her an almost photographic memory. When she worked in New York City, it was essential, but in times like today, it could be a curse. Her meditation sessions had helped, of course, but the dream kept repeating itself and with stubborn frequency, too.

_Seems even during the day I can't escape it_, she sighed and took another drink of her chilled beverage. Then, tipping her chin up in determined resolve, she declared to herself, _I cannot let it get to me, though. Whatever it was might have been branches scraping against stone or something natural like that. I'm certainly making more out of this than I should, that much I know_.

She then stretched, yawning once. Before turning around to go back inside to make dinner, however, something slipping under the westerly fence of Sudan's pasture caught her attention. It ran haphazardly towards her, zigzagging through the tall grass, with a tail poking from the grass marking its progress. A light sounding bell rang out, too, and one that seemed a bit familiar to her.

_Hmmm…similar, but not quite the same tone,_ she murmured quietly.

Then, a furry face topped with triangular ears and fronted by a whiskered muzzle popped up from within the grass. It looked around, as if trying to get its bearings and then, just as quickly, ducked back down into the tall verdant green and yellow, again, its tail held high once more.

"A…cat?" she said aloud, "out here?" Marie moved forward on her porch and leaned against the railing to get a better view. She watched as the animal's tail moved through the tall grass. It was a slim tail, too, suggesting a short-coated cat, and orangey brown in color. "Hmmph, a tail with a cat attached!" she laughed and continued to watch as the 'tail' made its way through the pasture towards her house.

Suddenly, a bird flew out of the pasture and a butterfly joined its exodus. This insect was orange, though. _A monarch_, Marie determined. The blue Eastern Tailed had left the area a week earlier, with only a few stragglers finding her property. In fact, she hadn't seen one in at least four days, which made her believe that they were the migrating kind. Suddenly, several grasshoppers erupted into haphazard flight in their attempt to escape whatever danger had entered the field and disturbed their meal. In response, the 'tail' seemed to chase after them for a moment, moving slightly away from the house and more towards Sudan.

Sudan caught the sudden movement, too, and probably the animal's scent. Curiously, he advanced upon the strange interloper, his walk turning into a slow trot. Before long, the horse had bridged the gap between him and this new visitor.

The tail came to a sudden stop, though, almost in indecision, and then turned around and moved fast through the grass. Suddenly, a blur of brown fur darted frantically from under the pasture fence, running straight for the house where Marie stood watching from the porch. It was obvious that the cat didn't like horses much. Marie laughed and she could tell that Sudan seemed disappointed, where he now stood completely still and watched the feline head in her direction. The horse snorted once and then went back to feeding.

The moment the cat realized its environment had changed, it came to a sudden stop and, with curious mild concern, looked around a bit. When he saw the woman in front of him on the porch, he meowed.

"Well, good afternoon, to you, too, kitty," Marie crouched, thereby reducing her height, in order to make her presence less imposing. She liked cats. She also noticed the belled collar around the cat's neck, with what appeared to be a nametag hanging underneath. _Probably lost_, the woman assumed_, since other than my mysterious **neighbor**, there isn't a farm close enough to mine to warrant a casual visit._

Smiling, she called out, inviting, "Here kitty, kitty."

The cat quirked its head a little and looked up at the woman, obviously familiar with the phrase. He meowed again, as if replying. However, rather than continuing on to the woman, it sat down. With ears perked and tail contentedly wrapped around its body, the feline's eyes met that of the human's. It seemed interested. Then, it began to wash itself, licking its right paw to wet it before running it over ear and face. The cat did the same with the opposite paw and washed the other side. Once done, it stood up onto all fours and casually made its way to the steps leading to the porch. As if it owned them, it took the stairs with confidence and, before long, the cat stood looking up at Marie. Once again, it meowed, its tail straight up with just the very tip curled over, suggesting contentment.

"Well," Marie chuckled, "seems you have enough manners to wash before coming in." She smiled then and turned, walking over to the porch door. As she pulled the screen door opened and entreated, "I don't know what I have to feed you, but you might as well come in and make yourself at home."

And as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do, the cat accepted Marie's proposal, and marched confidently into the house, purring all the way.

x x x x x x

**_TBC_**


	4. Of Dreams and Trespassers

**DISCLAIMER - **_Yep, another update. Double-go me. :0) Trying to get this thing moving along, as I know it might be dragging for some. _

_As I explained to one reader, writing on FF is just an exercise for me, where I use what I read elsewhere to enhance and improve my writing skills. Based on the mainstream books that I've read (Dean Koontz and Frank Peretti are my two favorite authors right now) I have found that both of these writers like to use many descriptions and/or character development. This story will have a lot of description - obviously, along with a bit more character development and more than I usually do. I find their work very entertaining and where they don't beleaguer their readers with horrendously long chapters, I am trying to do likewise. _

_Given the 'ornate' details of my meanderings with THIS story, though, I think it is best I keep them short, anyway. Some chapters may be longer than most, of course, but I hope that they won't bog down the reading too much. _

_From the end of this chapter on, however, things are going to get a little more interesting and action oriented. I hope you enjoy it. _

_As before, I don't own much, certainly not the Ninja Turtles and their constituents. :0)_

x x x x x x x

**Chapter 4 - Of Dreams and Trespassers**

Marie tossed and turned in her bed, semi awake, mostly asleep, as she wrestled through another dream. It always started the same way, too. She was riding Sudan through the backwoods and taking lunch under a canopy of old oak, before hearing the sound of metal cutting through air. This one was different, however. Sudan had turned blue in her dream. That…was just plain weird.

And it always ended with her thoughts on the past, of what the sound could be, and that alone made her heart race, which inevitably would wake her.

With a sudden jerk, she woke up with her chest pounding anxiously. She felt completely spent. It was still night out too, with just enough light from star and moon to paint soft translucent beams through her partly opened window and across her bed. That was when she realized she had lost her sheets and blankets while she slept. When she found them strewn about the floor near her bed, she quickly pulled them over her again, tucking them under her chin as her dream dissipated. It was slow and seemed to hang over her like a rain-laden cloud, but eventually, it passed. Marie yawned hugely and she could tell that she wasn't getting enough sleep; that is if she was having trouble ridding herself from the dream's affects. Each time she had it, though, she felt more deprived than before, with an anxiousness invading her, making her feel edgy…and Marie hated feeling anxious or edgy.

Actually, truth be told, Marie hated feeling anything but in complete control. And the dream only reminded her that she had lost that long ago.

As she lay there, she decided that maybe before retiring each evening, she would meditate, rather than doing it in the morning. Maybe, then, whatever was causing the dream, would go away.

"But why the same one, though? Doesn't make any sense…unless… it…means something?"

There was a time when she believed that dreams were visions, but that was long ago, before the change. And she had decreed the change, too, in order to blend in, to hide, to disappear. She had to if she were to ever live her own life and without fear of losing it.

Realizing that sleep would evade her for yet another night, Marie rolled up to a sitting position. She tiredly rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand and yawned once again, mumbling, "Wonder what time it is?"

As she leaned over to get a look at her alarm clock on the side-table, she heard a soft purring coming from next to her.

Curled into a ball and right where Marie's legs had created a nook slept the cat, the very same one that had come upon her property two weeks ago. Despite her movement, he seemed oblivious to his mistress's new position. The woman smiled and stroked its sleek soft fur, cupping her fingers under his chin to scratch gently at its throat.

Dreamily, the cat stretched his neck to get more of the soothing ministrations and when he finally awoke, he looked up at the woman with curious green eyes.

_Meowr_, it greeted her and stretched, giving a wide, tooth-filled yawn. It licked its lips and then remained where it lay, looking up at Marie in contentment.

"Ah, kitten," Marie apologized, "sorry about waking you. I had another of those disturbing dreams again."

The cat purred louder and tilted its head up, squinting slightly, apparently pleased to have someone talking to him. In reply, he received another affectionate stroke along his head and back, which encouraged him to meow again and stand. He moved in closer to the woman, his tail straight up, and rubbed his head and body against her, meowring once more. He pushed his head into her hand as she stroked him, and then moved passed her to jump off the bed. The cat padded silently over to a bowl of food and water near the door leading to the hallway. Huddling in front of his dish and with his tail curled around his body, now, the animal began feeding.

Marie knew she was spoiling the cat by keeping food in her bedroom, but she figured it was easier than having him wander the house to the laundry room where his other dishes were. Having a bowl upstairs provided him with easy access…and she did indeed want to spoil him so that he would stay with her and not wander off property. She had tried to make his new home as inviting as possible.

And he seemed content to stay, too.

_Maybe I should get a dog, _she wondered silently. "Hey, Kitten, would you like a dog?"

The cat continued to eat, ignoring the suggestion, the very tip of its tail the only other part of him that moved.

"Hmm…maybe not, eh?"

In any event, the cat had been with her for two weeks now, ever since he arrived on her back porch and, so far, no one in town had yet put up any lost kitten signs. Even when he was outside with her, he never left the property, although there were times he thought about it. Something in the woods would intrigue him now and then and he would go and investigate, but always he would stay on property, never venturing into the forest. Regardless, Marie assumed that either the cat had wandered off from it original home or, and this made her blood boil, someone just dumped him and took off.

Considering the cat preferred sticking close to his new surroundings, Marie decided the latter explanation made more sense.

In either case, he didn't appear as if he had wandered for long and the collar he wore when he first arrived indicated that someone had once owned him. Apparently, he had been cat number three blessed with the name of Klunk; that is if the number following the name said as much.

Still, no matter how hard she tried, Marie could not call him _Klunk_.

_What kind of name is that, anyway_, she had said to herself. "Klunk sounds like something heavy hitting the ground and you're anything but heavy," she had remarked to the cat. He was a young kitten, maybe two if that, and so he hadn't yet filled out to maturity. Nevertheless, the cat had looked at her and _meowed_, as if in complete agreement.

So far, though, Marie couldn't think of what to call him, so she resorted to just calling him Kitten.

And it was a male, a fixed one at that, so she couldn't attribute his wandering about before coming to her property as 'nature's call'.

Klunk the Third was just…lost. Or abandoned.

Anyway, she took a glance at the alarm clock…then groaned, "Two o'clock…in the morning? Ah, too early to stay up until dawn, but not too early to make a cup of mint tea. That should help me relax, right Kitten?"

Easing from her bed, Marie grabbed up her robe from her armchair and slipped it on, before shoving her feet into slippers. As she made her way out of her bedroom, Kitten zoomed ahead of her and down the stairs, determined to beat Marie to her destination. He went with her everywhere…everywhere except to Sudan's barn. It seemed the horse terrified him and even though Marie was certain mice lived in her horse's stable, the cat refused to visit.

As it turned out, Kitten knew exactly where Marie was going and so had already popped up into a chair by the time the woman had walked into the kitchen.

Various appliances provided enough illumination to make it unnecessary for her to switch on the ceiling light. Years of learning to work in near darkness had trained her to see without light, anyway, so it was second nature for her to move about without it. Consequently, between the oven and microwave clocks, and with a bit of moonbeams streaming in through the kitchen window, she had enough light by which to see.

After filling the teakettle with water and setting it on the stove, she turned the burner on high. Then, Marie went over to the table where the cat was and took the seat next to it.

"So, Kitten, what shall we talk about this morning?"

The cat sat there and gazed up at the woman, his green eyes growing large and reflective within the mostly dark interior of the kitchen. The animal then settled into a crouch and relaxed, its tail curled around him.

"Right, not much to talk about, especially at this awful hour."

Marie then sighed and closed her eyes, allowing the stillness of the night to envelope her. Other than the sound of the teakettle warming to boiling behind her, the room was quiet and still. Until the kettle announced its readiness, she decided to take the opportunity to do a brief moment of meditation. She relaxed and settled back, her posture straight, and her arms languishing across her lap. She resisted the urge to fold up her legs into a lotus position, though. Although she could do it in a chair, it wasn't very comfortable that way, so she sat there, feet flat on the floor, and tried to empty her mind, the way her father had taught her.

After a moment of light and rhythmic breathing, a sense of loss came to her, one that implied an item, something of value, something…loved. And then she felt as if she were viewing her kitchen from outside through the window by the sink. Stranger still, she saw herself, sitting in the chair, back straight, arms across her lap, eyes closed, breathing in, breathing out…and then, Kitten came into view on his chair. The kitchen itself was dark, just as it was currently, with the only light coming from the appliance clocks and the flames licking the underside of the teakettle. Marie crinkled her brow, confused. Why was she seeing this? If this was a vision, why was it so exact to where she was right now? Had she opened her eyes, nothing would change from what she saw in her vision. Usually, visions showed images of other places and people…not…

And, in an instant, she was up out of her chair, whipping around to face the window behind her. Crouching in a defensive position and with hands up, feet splayed apart in readiness, she caught the briefest of shadow as it fell away from the window and disappeared.

Someone had been watching her and from outside her kitchen window, no less!

She sprang from her position and ran to her laundry room. Before racing out the door to her side yard, she grabbed the wazikashi from alongside her washer, a recent addition after her experience in the forest. Since that event, Marie had made sure to have all exits and her bedroom outfitted with a weapon at the ready, but hidden from anyone's knowledge except her own.

It seemed her foresight had paid off.

After closing the exterior door of the laundry room to keep Kitten inside, with one leap, she was off the side porch and well away from the house. She turned around quickly to face whatever assailant had dared threatened her. Training from long ago had taught her never stand directly under the eve of a roof. To do so would make her a perfect target to anyone standing above, thereby giving them the advantage of attack.

Standing twenty feet into her yard, now, she quickly circled around, eyes scanning the house, the pasture, the smidgen of frontage she could see from where she stood, and then the woods to the west. In truth, other than directly in front of her house, the woods surrounded her property, hedging her bit of developed land and Sudan's pasture of five acres with old growth trees.

Just the same, the clearing made it impossible for anyone to come upon her house unawares - that is, except at night - and in that moment, Marie realized how foolish she had been to assume she was safe, even here in the deepest part of Massachusetts. She made a promise to herself that come morning, she would go about installing some sort of early warning system, something that would alert her to any intruders attempting to cross her land.

_Stupid, just plain stupid, and I of all people should have known better! _

Still, no matter where she looked, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. She knew, though...Marie instinctively KNEW that something - or some**_one_** - had been standing outside the kitchen window looking in at her.

And, she recognized the feeling, too. Years ago, she had the ability to meditate on an astral plane where it was possible for her to see things through someone else's mind and eyes. It only worked when that someone had the same kind of training she had and the same sensitivity to such abilities. The moment she realized she was seeing herself and through her kitchen window, she knew she had connected with someone else.

And the loss she had felt then seemed almost overwhelming, too. It pained her, gripped her. It was most unsettling!

Chest heaving and eyes narrowed, Marie continued to stand there in her yard, feet splayed apart and weapon at the ready. She couldn't believe that anything natural would be able to move that fast, not fast enough to make the woods, regardless of which side of her land they chose to go. Something told her that whoever it was who peaked in through the kitchen window still had to be on property.

It was then when she looked across the yard towards Sudan's barn, a hundred yards away.

_I'm not dressed for this_, she growled, _but I don't have time to change_.

Therefore, dressed in her nightgown and robe, Marie stalked her way in slippers towards the barn, knife in hand. Every fiber of her being was in tune to her immediate position, every nerve on fire with readiness. She looked all around, turning in place as she walked, and became more certain than before that whoever had trespassed, had taken refuge with her horse. She checked the roof of her house, too, but saw nothing remarkable under the light of the moon - and it was a quarter full, too, just enough to expose any unusual shape, had there been any. She turned her focus to the stable again and Marie knew that it was the only place in which to hide.

_If he, or she, so much as upsets Sudan…there will be hell to pay_, she vowed under her breath.

………

"Seriously, are you out of your mind?" The voice was barely audible.

"You want to return empty handed?" the other voice asked, keeping the volume low.

"No, of _course_ not," the other replied, shocked by the assumption.

The first voice admonished, shifting to a whisper, "Then we have to do this; it's the only way. I've tried enticing him to come into the forest, when he's out with the woman, but he won't cooperate. Therefore, we had to get that woman out of the house first."

"But did you see how quick she came out of the house? You barely had time t'get back here. That's not normal for…"

"She's just a woman, just a woman living alone, and probably scared…"

They both went silent, as if listening for something and then, the first voice said hastily, "I think she's found out where we're hiding. Com'on, let's get that horse out of its stall."

………

Marie barely heard the sound of hoof beats when Sudan suddenly shot from the dark interior of the barn. In fact, she barely had time to jump out of the way as the horse zipped past her at a dead run.

"How the hell…" and then it hit her.

Whoever was in the barn had let her horse out of his stall. Worst still, they had spooked him. Now, Sudan ran in panic and straight towards the front of her property where the long driveway was. If he made it past there and towards the highway before she could stop him…

Marie brought fingers to lips, sending up two, loud, short whistles.

At first, Sudan continued running, seemingly oblivious to the call. Then…it registered. Just short of reaching the far side of the house where the driveway began, his training took over. Sudan stopped hard, sending up clouds of dust and grit, before whirling around. With his mad dash reduced to that of a nervous trot, he hesitated just a bit, shaking his head, looking around, and not at all eager to return to where his mistress stood. The need to run still tugged at his instincts. He tossed his head around some more and snorted nervously before sidestepping a little. He circled wide, unsure, looking back towards Marie, then at the driveway, then at Marie, his eyes wide and searching his general vicinity, acting as if any moment, some monster would leap upon his back. Then, his mind made up, Sudan quickly returned to his mistress's side and nickered nervously, almost beseeching his owner to explain what had just happened.

The moment Sudan came up to her, Marie grabbed his halter and used his momentum to lead him over to the pasture gate. In one fluid motion, she had it opened and Sudan ushered inside, securing the gate behind him as he raced away across the field, the stallion high stepping and anxious.

Satisfied her horse would be safe for the time being, Marie turned her attention to the barn. She gripped her knife, took a deep breath, and slowly approached the outbuilding with deadly intent.

As she stood before the gaping and darkened entrance, she regained some measure of common sense. _It wouldn't do to kill someone's kid, just because he's playing a practical joke on me, now would it?_

With her voice bold and sharp, she called into the darkened recesses of the barn, "I will give you one chance to remove yourself from my property. If you do not leave immediately, I will have no other choice but to call the authorities."

And then, Marie rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe she was calling out a warning. Yes, indeed, living this new life had imposed upon her a different way to handle trespassers…but it didn't seem to be nearly as efficient. Years ago, she would have simply dispatched someone bold enough to trespass her property, regardless of the time of day or night, because she knew that in doing so and at that ungodly hour, that person would not have good intentions.

No, whoever had invaded her space had done so with plans to harm…or to cause mayhem. Releasing and then spooking Sudan had certainly caused mayhem; that much was certain. But, what harm did they have in mind? That was her next question.

Now, Marie had a quandary, wondering how far to push the situation, and then…she had a thought.

Maybe whoever it was had been the driver of the van she almost collided with weeks earlier, when she took the wrong driveway. Possibly, he had found out who she was and where she lived, exercising his right to a rebuttal about her trespassing on his land. Maybe, just maybe this was a country version of comeuppance.

_Seems a rather unproductive thing to do. Why not just come during the day and demand some sort of payment for repairs? And why am I debating this here and in my nightgown, no less…when there's someone in my barn? GAH, I must be senile!_

When she didn't get a response from inside the structure, Marie grit her teeth and put away her thoughts. She slowly advanced into the out building, every nerve on edge, her senses on high alert, and her eyes scanning the dark interior for any shape out of the ordinary. As she entered the barn, with knife up and threatening, she turned around quickly, completing a full circle, all the while looking up into the rafters and then down back down again, scanning into both stalls and their corners, before setting her eyes on the bales of hay she kept at the back for her horse's feed. Her years of keen observation noted the slight askew of one bale, where the day before she had meticulously placed it directly center of the ones beneath it.

_Maybe Sudan bumped into it when they let him loose_, she reasoned. There were other concerns, too, but the more she studied the pile, only the one bale seemed out of place. She was certain they hadn't found the trapdoor, not yet, anyway.

Still, where she kept the stacked collection of hay, it would mean that the horse would have to run towards the rear first, before heading out through the one and only entrance…and Marie knew that Sudan knew where the exterior door was.

No, someone had been in here, all right, and had hid behind the bales of hay, only - now - they were gone, Marie could sense it.

And, as she finished that thought, she heard Sudan whinny. Next, she heard a cat meow, but it sounded far away, too far for it to come from the house. As an uneasy understanding quickly settled in, Marie gasped in surprise. In an instant, she spun on her heels and raced outside, rapidly crossing the yard towards her home, for she recognized the meow, and knew beyond a doubt that someone had taken Kitten!

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**_TBC_**


	5. A Catnapping and Mrs Jones

**_DISCLAIMER - _**_Well, for those kind enough to read and for those few reviewing, my reward is a quick update. Aw, I would have updated this quick anyway, since I want this story up and running with the TMNT's as soon as possible. I know it's hard to read something on FanFiction that's not thick with canon characters, so I truly appreciate any attention given to my little experiment. _

_In any event, all canon characters - such as I've managed to portray - are owned by other people. _

**x x x x x x x**

**Chapter 5 - A Catnapping and Mrs. Jones**

The moment she cleared the barn, whatever mewing Marie had heard a moment earlier, had stopped. Desperately, she ran to her house. When she reached the porch near the laundry room, she cleared all four steps in a single leap…and doing so in her nightgown, robe, and slippers.

Normally, she would have cheered to herself, glad to know she was just as nimble as in her youth, but right now, she was trying to justify why she had heard her cat and what had caused it to cry out?

When she spied a single, errant blade of straw lying along the open threshold of the laundry room door and the very door she had closed behind her when she first went outside, Marie knew that someone had violated her home.

"Son of a…" but Marie's expletive went unfinished as she barreled into the house.

Racing into the kitchen, she heard the teakettle whistle angrily from the stove. Marie went over and quickly turned the flame off and then, once more called out, "KITTEN, KITTEN…" and listened for a response. When none came, she changed her tactics, "**KITTEN**, ARE YOU **HUNGRY**?"

Nothing. No plaintive mew, no ball of fur racing into the room. Usually when hearing the word 'dinner', the cat would skitter into the kitchen full throttle from wherever he was in the house. If his dinner wasn't on the floor waiting for him, he would then frantically rub his body plaintively around her legs and yowl like a banshee, making such a racket, that one would think he was starving. To Kitten, '_dinner'_ meant '_canned food', _and Marie knew her cat dearly loved his canned food!

After a moment or two and without even the faintest of meows, it became obvious that the cat was indeed gone.

Then, as she looked around, Marie noted the room seemed undisturbed, which surprised her. She quickly checked the other rooms on the first level and then the second, cautious and wary, her knife at the ready. Although she lived rather sparsely, owning few items other than the necessary furniture and her collection of swords hanging above the mantle of her fireplace, everything was as it should be. No one was in the home. If it was a simple thief, she half expected the swords to be missing, but they weren't. Which only meant that the thief wasn't simple nor were his intentions.

Had the cat slipped out of the house when the door opened? Marie wondered about that. Or, maybe the intruder was still inside, hiding! That didn't worry her as much as it annoyed her. She hated playing hide and go seek, especially in her home and with someone she didn't know. As she stood there and concentrated, she didn't sense anyone nearby. Whoever had invaded her house had obviously left.

Yet, the cat's meow now echoed in her mind. By its very nature, it friendly, as if Kitten knew the intruder. That gave her pause and she 'hmmphed' under her breath.

She came back into the kitchen again, running through the laundry room and outside. Marie stopped on the porch and studied the distant trees beyond, noting how dark they were against a darker sky, the heavens above sprinkled liberally with bright, diamond-like stars. The quarter moon, now at its zenith, gilded the tops of the trees and the ground below with enough light so that Marie could determine her property line. Nevertheless, she could still see deeper shadows in which to hide.

She then turned and look towards the northern part of the house at the front, where the highway ran for two miles towards the main highway.

_Maybe they came by car?_ and she took off running again. She followed the porch as it led towards the driveway, her footsteps light and desperate, and when it began wrapping arond the front of the house, she stopped just short of slamming into the post and rail. She was breathing hard and then Marie suddenly felt her throat constrict as emotion welled up inside of her. She found it shocking, in fact, that she would even get this way and especially over something as silly as a cat.

Yes, it was by chance the cat had come to her, but over the course of two weeks, he had developed into a welcomed fixture, someone she delighted in seeing, something that lightened her heart with every friendly meow. She could even remember how his fur felt under her gentle ministrations when she would caresse andn scratch him. Marie's throat tightened even more and she found herself forcing a swallow.

Nevertheless, as she visually inspected the gravel driveway with an intensity usually reserved for something more important or more valuable than a cat, even with light from the quarter moon, not even a wisp of dust presented itself. No tire marks had marred the ground, other than her H3's from when she drove it into the garage earlier in the day. Whoever had invaded her property had to have done so on foot, not by car.

Marie turned back and stared hard across her acreage to the woods that separated her land from her mysterious neighbors. It was in that moment when another surge of emotion welled up inside of the woman.

Anger.

Yet, it was the first emotion, the one that was more rarified for her to feel, the feeling of melancholy and of loss that seemed more potent. It was something she hadn't felt in a very long time; yet it was something very much like what she felt only a moment ago when meditating.

Feeling violated and quite alone, she wrapped her arms around her and fought back the tears.

_Tears_? _And__ over a cat no less?_ _Good god, am I going nuts? _

Or, maybe, it was just the residual effect of experiencing what the intruder had felt. She had indeed connected with someone, of that she was certain. She savored the experience for a moment, though, hoping to find some identity, some way of knowing who she was up against. Nothing came to her, though, other than a feeling that this person had lost something.

It seemed with Kitten gone, he had reclaimed it. Marie shook her head, confused by the need.

Regardless, it was obvious to Marie that someone had taken her cat and had left her property by way of the forest. They had to go that way in order to do so unseen. The fact that her only neighbor resided west of her left little doubt as to what side of her property they had gone, too. And where they had distracted her over to the barn and on the opposite side of the house, their escape route would have had to be the westerly woods. Anyone trying to get off property from that point could do so unaware by her, because the house would have been in the way.

But, why take the cat? It didn't make any sense to her. As much as she loved Kitten, Sudan was worth far more than him, but…what if her trespasser was the cat's original owner?

If it was, that puzzled Marie more than before. Yet, it made sense, too...if the cat belonged to her mysterious neighbor. If they wanted the cat back, though, why not approach her during the day. And how would they know she had the cat in the first place? She lived out in the boonies, for crying out loud.

Maybe they already knew who she was, based on the near collision with their van; she did, afterall, drive a rather unique vehicle.

_Really need to reconsider buying a different car, I think!_

Then, Marie wondered if she had already crossed paths with them in town, unaware of who they were, of course. In fact, maybe they had been in the same pet store and at the same time with Marie when she first bought Kitten his food? She remembered when she had piled her collection onto the checkout counter, how the cashier asked her about her cat, what kind it was, the color, and Marie gave as short an answer as she could without trying to encourage a conversation.

Unfortunately, the girl kept going on and on about her own pets, and just talking and talking. At one point, Marie wanted to stuff her mouth with a rag. It was apparent that the girl didn't know when or how to shut up.

Still, even if the original owners had figured out that she had their cat, it didn't make sense for them to trespass the way that they did and at night, no less.

_Maybe they don't like confronting people? _she decided

Nevertheless, one thing was clear, coming onto her land and at night meant that they - or someone - knew the area well. And, the only other neighbor living closest to Marie who might even have a cat to lose and one that might end up on her property was the old farm up the road. The more she thought about that, the more it made sense, and she had half a mind to charge through the forest and walk all five miles in her nightgown and robe, just to demand an apology from them. Yet, it was her lingering doubt about who had really taken Kitten that kept her from doing so.

Convinced that no amount of searching would yield her friend, at least for the moment, huffing once, Marie turned around and went back to tend to her horse. Maybe she would put up signs in town, asking for Kitten's whereabouts. But if he had sojourned to her place by chance and the original owners had only come to retrieve what was rightfully theirs, more than likely her flyers would yield little more than casual interest.

Deciding to leave Sudan outside in his pasture for the remainder of the night, Marie locked the gate behind her, just to prevent any more mayhem and mischief. He still seemed a bit worked up and she knew he would only tear his stall apart, making more work for. It was better that she leave him outside until morning.

After securing all doors and windows in her house and before slipping up the stairs and to bed again, Marie made a mental note that, first thing in the morning, she would call Mr. Hamilton. If her neighbors had indeed trespassed, she was going to make certain that they would never do so again.

More determined than before, Marie made plans to buy the old farm up the road.

Later on the next day and with the sun halfway towards noon, Marie sat on the arm of her armchair, phone to ear, "Mr. Hamilton, this is Mrs. Smith."

_"Ah, yes, Mrs. Smith, how are you? Are you enjoying your new home?"_

"Quite, but I have a question…"

_"And I have an answer!"_ The man chuckled through the receiver, quite amused with his remark.

Marie rolled her eyes in mild annoyance, but let the matter go. Instead, she asked, "Do you have any information about who owns the property next to mine? I'd like to buy it."

_"Oh…well, ah…sorry, I don't have that information at the ready, but give me an hour, maybe less, and I'll have it!" _Mr. Hamilton's voice became cheerier, _"Which property is it?"_

"The one next door to mine," Marie rolled her eyes; the incompetency of the man was truly amazing.

_"Um, and that would be in…what direction?"_

Marie sighed, "Due west, about five miles, the driveway, however, is only a quarter mile west from mine on the main highway. You can probably look it up using county records."

_"Oh, um…wait a sec_..." and Hamilton put Marie on hold

_Why me? _the woman lamented, but before she could fume for too much longer, she heard the man come back to the phone.

_"Yes, one of the more established residents in the area…rather new to me, though. Anyway…how much are you willing to pay for it?"_

"Right now, I only want to find out if they're interested. We can haggle over price later."

_"Of course, I…I understand. As soon as I have the information, I'll call you."_

"Please do, Mr. Hamilton. I'm not at all happy to find out that my property isn't as exclusive as I was originally led to believe and I want to remedy that as soon as possible," and then Marie ended the call.

She sat there and looked down at the device and then gazed around her living room. It seemed…emptier…now that Kitten was gone.

The woman smiled ruefully and shook her head, _"Silly me, smitten with a kitten. Well, I'm certain that someone around these parts has a litter who wouldn't mind giving away a cat…or two. This is the country after all! Maybe Mr. Hamilton will know of one."_

She pushed off the armchair and went about with her housecleaning. As she worked from room to room, she gave half a thought to calling the local authorities about the catnapping, but decided against it. Since she hadn't reported finding the cat initially, the sheriff would only see the 'theft' as the original owners right to reclaim that which was his in the first place. Of course, trespassing to do it would only garner more attention for her than Marie felt comfortable with, so…in the end…she decided to let the matter go.

_I'm certain if I really want a cat, all I have to do is inquire at the pet store._

Forty minutes later, her phone rang. It was Mr. Hamilton.

_"I have good news and bad new, Mrs. Smith."_

"I prefer bad, first, please." Marie stood in her kitchen and waited, impatiently tapping a foot, a towel in hand. In her other hand, she held a vase, one given to her by her father. She had just finished washing and drying it when the phone rang. Gently placing the Ming artifact onto the kitchen table, she pressed the phone to her ear with her left shoulder as she listened to Mr. Hamilton's reply.

_"Um, yes, of course…well…it says here in the local records that the owner isn't interested in selling, at least the last time someone wanted the property, which was about…ah…let's see, I saw it here just…a moment ago…YES! About fifteen years ago. Doesn't say who tried to buy it, but Mr. Jones was quite adamant about not selling."_

"Mr…Jones?" Marie stared into the receiver, tensely working the muscles in her jaw, her brow pinched together.

_"Yes, a Mr. Arnold Jones to be precise! He inherited the farm from his grandmother years ago. Seems the property's been handed down from generation to generation…for over a hundred years, in fact. But, if you want, Mrs. Smith, I can contact him and see if he's changed his mind about selling."_

"Hmm…Arnold Jones," Marie repeated vacantly. As she pondered that name, her face narrowed, an all too haunting memory about another Jones coming to mind, one that she would prefer not meeting again. That one had gone by a different name, however. "Does Mr. Jones have a brother, perhaps? I seem to recollect another Jones living in New York City. I used to…do business with him. It would be rather ironic, wouldn't it, if the Jones I knew there and the Jones who owns the property next door to mine were one and the same?"

Mr. Hamilton laughed, _"Indeed it would, Mrs. Smith, and considering how many Jones's there are in the world…let me check the paperwork again…I know there's something here about next of kin, in case the owner passes on. Hmm…there's a Daniel and a Rebecca Jones listed as beneficiaries - children, I assume, but no… Mr. Jones doesn't seem to have any siblings, best that I can see here in the paperwork. He was an only child, I believe. However, his middle initial is 'C', so it's possible he might have gone by whatever 'C' stands for while in New York."_

"Hmm…interesting." Marie pursed her lips, wondering about her next move. "Well, maybe I'll just drive over there and introduce myself. I can be quite persuasive when it comes to acquisitions and…"

_"Ah, that would be quite difficult. Although Mr. Jones does own the property, he doesn't live there per se'. Just a minute..." _There was a pause, as if the man was attempting to find the necessary information. When he did, Mr. Hamilton continued, _"He's listed here in county records as living in Connecticut. I think he's just holding onto the farm for family's sake. Some displaced country folk are like that, can't let go, memories and such."_

"But, I saw someone…come out of the driveway a few weeks ago." Marie waited, her interest piquing considerably.

_"Ah, yes, he has it here…let's see, it's just under his address…ah, yes…he has it here that he is allowing friends to live there indefinitely, but no one is to bother them."_ The man laughed, rather amused, _"Funny what you find out about these places when you have the paperwork right in front of you. Honestly, Mrs. Smith, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, had I known about the farm when you first surveyed the area, I wouldn't have hesitated telling you."_

"Yes, I'm sure you would have," and Marie could tell the man was lying. His overstated apology seemed far too deliberate for it to be sincere.

_"Anyway,"_ the man continued, "_…I…wait…what_?" and then Hamilton's voice faded, as if he had turned way from the phone to talk to someone in the same room with him. It took a while and Marie had to repress a sigh of annoyance, her brow pinched with consternation, but then the man came back on the phone again, _"Someone here in the office just handed me an addendum...seems one of our land brokers tried to buy the property fifteen years ago. It created some problems and Mr. Jones had it entered into the records that under no circumstances is any realtor supposed to approach the property or trespass, under threat of litigation. It says here that his tenants prefer their privacy and he will not hesitate to sue anyone breaching said conditions. It goes on to include that he did sue the broker, who went bankrupt. Anyway, all inquiries about the farm are to be referred to Mr. Arnold Jones directly, or to his spouse, April...__O**'Neil**…Jones."_

Marie's eyes widened considerably, but she stopped short of exclaiming anything recriminating. She heard Mr. Hamilton add, "If you did happen to see anyone coming from that property, most likely it would be the Jones' renters."

For a moment, Marie seemed dumbstruck, a long pause coming between her and Mr. Hamilton.

_"Um, Mrs. Smith, are…are you still there?"_

"Yes, of course I'm still here... (_you idiot)_…" Marie then took a measured breath, before saying, "Mr. Hamilton, if you can get in contact with this Arnold Jones or his wife, April, please let them know that someone is very interested in buying their property. And, I'll be most grateful if you would **_refrain_** from using my name."

_"Absolutely, Mrs. Smith.__ As soon as I can get…"_

"And, Mrs. Hamilton, my price is double what I paid for mine...and if you can convince them to sell…"

_"Yes?"_

"I will **_personally_** triple your commission."

The man nearly jumped through the phone with delight, "_I will do my best; you can count on it!"_

"I expect nothing **_less_**, **Mr**. Hamilton."

Ten minutes later found Marie leaning sideways into the railing of her back porch as she faced the mysterious woods that bordered her property. With arms crossed and as she had on so many other occasions, she stared out towards the forest of trees.

"So, Mr. Jones, Mrs. Jones, who are you…really?" Marie murmured under her breath.

With narrowed expression, the woman tensely worked her jaw muscles, old memories from her past resurfacing and it seemed with increasing regularity, too. She would have preferred to forget, if not forgive. She knew it had been a one-sided treaty, her request to stop the blood shed was hers, not theirs, and then subsequently and rudely rejected with more bloodshed. She wondered ruefully, then, if this idea of about changing her looks, her name, and moving to the country would end up with an ironic conclusion.

"Wouldn't that make Father smile?" and Marie snorted once in indignation before turning to go back inside her house.

Watching from the confines of friendly shadows and as deep into the woods as he could get and still observe her, Leonardo watched the woman retreat inside her house. He had sensed her discord and anger and wondered if snatching Klunk the night before had been wise. Yet, after learning from Raphael about Klunk's whereabouts, Mike's plaintive pleas to have his cat returned to him would brook nothing less than compliance. They had to do it or suffer the consequences.

After all, Mike in a dementia rage was a truly ugly thing to experience.

In any event, Leo hoped that this woman would leave well enough alone. Still, there was something about her posture, the way she stood, and the way she gave piercing glances towards the forest where Leonardo hid told him she was something different.

And, niggling at the back of his mind was something familiar about her, too.

x x x x x x x x

**_TBC_**


	6. Unannounced Intrusion

_**DISCLAIMER: **Nope, still don't own them, never will, I suppose, but - then - that's nothing new. _

_And, here's another chapter for the faithful. Thank you for reading. :0) _

**x x x x x x x **

**Chapter 6 - Unannounced Intrusion **

Over the next couple of days following her call to Mr. Hamilton, Marie went about installing her perimeter warning system.

Initially, she had to go out of town to get it, using an old contact from her previous life, a man who had helped design a part of her house, in fact. When she called about his services (providing him with the correct password to keep him from hanging up on her), Marie altered her voice just so he would not recognize her. Then, when they met face to face, the physical changes she had made to herself years earlier kept the man ignorant about who she really was. Marie might have trusted him, but he - as well as everyone else connected with his line of work - believed her other persona dead and she refused to risk contradicting that 'belief', even with Stan.

As it turned out, Stan had enough presence of mind to not question her request or even keep record of their business deal, not if he valued his life. The way he earned his income, he made a habit of forgetting faces; it kept him among the living.

And, had Marie even thought about the possibility of someone trespassing on her property, she would have had Stan install the system right at the start. Considering what other extras in her home he made for her, it just boggled Marie's mind that she didn't have enough foresight about an alarm. Nevertheless, it took most of the day to gather up the needed items. Although she worried a bit about another impromptu visit from her thief while she was gone, in all honesty, she really didn't think that whoever it was who took Kitten would make a repeat offense.

They already had what they wanted from her.

Nevertheless, when she set out to install her alarm, Marie took Sudan with her in order to get around her land more efficiently. The weather had been pleasant and not as humid as in recent days. A series of short summer storms had blown through, drenching the countryside with torrents of rain, thereby keeping Massachusetts green and, along with the summer heat, quite sticky.

However, when the weather finally cleared, leaving behind it bright blue skies, and the barest wisp of wind, it was just too perfect not to bring Sudan.

As horse and rider went from point to point, Marie found the hard part for her was in determining how high to adjust the sensors and to what level. She didn't want every deer and bear in the county triggering it, yet she had to keep the height reasonable, so that even someone vertically challenged would trip the alarm. In the end, Marie decided to install each system at a minimum of three feet and with the heat sensor reacting to any body temperature between ninety-five and one-hundred degrees. Any intrusion by someone taller and having walked for a bit to get there would activate the alert. Then, inside her house or from the portable clip-on she would wear if off property, a buzzer would sound, signaling her of an intruder. It was all state of the art and as she worked, she mentally thanked her contact, Stan.

It certainly helped to know someone who had a past affiliation with government work.

As Marie moved along her property line, she thought to herself, _Maybe next month, I'll install cameras at pertinent locations, too_. And the more she thought about that idea, the more she smiled, _Father would definitely be proud, I think!_

On the third day, while taking a break, and grabbing something to eat, her cell phone rang.

"Hehwoh?" she answered, her mouth filled with sandwich. With a gulp of water from her canteen, Marie quickly swallowed it.

_"Ah, Mrs. Smith, I've been trying to get a hold of you, but you don't seem to be at home. I hope I'm not disturbing you." _

"S'alright…I'm still on property. I'm installing a security system right now. I had…a trespasser the other night and…"

_"Oh, that's too bad; did you call the authorities?" _

"No, I didn't see any need to. I'm certain it was just kids, pulling a prank, but I'm not taking any chances. I'm going to include my driveway, too, so call ahead if you decide to drop by."

_"Um…well…you should know that you can only do up to the last one hundred yards before it meets the highway. The county owns that part. If you want to install sensors or cameras there, you'll have to get a permit and…" _

"What - do you mean, the county owns it? I thought I owned all of it?" Marie felt a headache coming on and she pinched the bridge of her nose to help relieve it.

_"Well, not exactly all. The county only owns that part of your road where it meets the main highway, plus a hundred yards in. The rest of it is yours, though. They maintain their part during winter, keeping it clear of snow, kind of a service to the landowner, so to put up any kind of security system, you'll need to let them know, get a permit, and all that." _

"That's ridiculous!"

_"Yes, I guess it does seem that way, but where they help maintain the road and all…" _

"And I suppose you were unaware of this when I first bought the property?"

_"Well, actually, no, but most people around here are aware of…" _

"I am not **most** people, Mr. Hamilton, and given the fact that I am new to the area, **you** should have been more **forthcoming**!" Truly, Marie wanted magic hands, the kind that could move through phone lines, just so she could strangle one very annoying member of the human race.

_"Yeees, you are correct. I should have." _

"Indeed you should have. It also makes your assumed ignorance about my one and only neighbor all the more **suspect**, but I will forgive you these two…_**errors**_." Marie grounded her last word and gave a short huff of irritation.

_"Thank you, Mrs. Smith…I _am_ sorry about the misunderstanding." _

"You are forgiven, like I said, but do not take advantage of my leniency. If there are any other surprises that I should know about, though…feel free to tell me… and _**now**_ would be a good time!" and she tapped her foot impatiently.

_"No, no other surprises, I assure you." _

Marie heard the man swallow through the phone line and she smiled thinly. She sweetened her next words, though, "In any event, I can safely assume that you called me about the property next door, yes?"

_"Yes…I did." _

A long, pregnant pause followed, however, causing Marie to demand more sternly, "Mr. Hamilton, are you still there?"

_"Yes, yes I am." _

"The offer, Mr. Hamilton; did you make Mr. Jones the offer?" The woman was beginning to tire of this man. First, he plays ignorant about her neighbor and now she's finding out that she doesn't own all of her driveway…and Hamilton knew about this? Could anything get worse?

_"Well, I - ah - didn't speak to _him_ directly, but to his _wife_,"_ Hamilton seemed to swallow nervously again, _"and she said…they wouldn't be interested in any offer whatsoever, no matter the price. I am…I'm very sorry, Mrs. Smith. I tried, I really did, but Mrs. Jones refused to consider even a second offer and if persisted, she would sue my office for harassment." _

"I see…" Marie grounded her teeth again, replying condescendingly, "well, I…really wouldn't want _that_ to happen." She pursed her lips in consternation and remarked, "Maybe if you give me their phone number, I could…"

_"OH NO, no, she said that any contact, now, by anyone pressuring to buy the farm will throw suspicion onto us since we've had prior clients in past years show interest. She says she'll follow through with her threat of litigation and without warning. She was…quite adamant about it, Mrs. Smith. Very forceful. I am sorry, I don't know what else to do." _

"You did as much as you're obviously _capable_ of, Mr. Hamilton. Thank you for trying."

_"Um…Mrs. Smith, would there be any…other properties that you…ah…might be interested in?" _

"No, that was the only one - unless I could buy the last hundred yards of my driveway, but…I suspect you would have the same answer for me as with purchasing the neighboring farm?"

_"Unfortunately, you are correct." _

"Then, I have nothing more to say. Good day, Mr. Hamilton."

As Marie ended the call, she cursed under her breath. She wasn't at all pleased with the news. Coupled with the knowledge that she didn't own all of her driveway only soured her mood more.

She worked off her aggression, though, by moving along her property line at a good clip, putting in twice as many sensors as she had planned for that day. Sudan seemed to take it all in stride, though. When she finished what she felt like doing, Marie remounted her horse and jogged him all the way back to his barn. She then bathed him free of the sweat and grime collected during their rounds and began leading him back inside the barn. As she did, she noticed a few ominous clouds working their way towards her and it looked as if the coming storm was going to be a good one, too.

_As if we need more rain_.

To secure him and yet allow Sudan to work off any nervous energy generated from the coming deluge, she stabled him in the double stall where she usually kept him during inclement weather. As well trained as Sudan was, thunder and lightening was the stallion's Achilles heel.

Afterwards, she languished in her jetted tub, allowing the bubbling hot water to ease away her aches and pains. Concerns about her driveway soon dissipated within the rose-scented bath and she found herself relaxing even more. While she lay there in her bath, soaking away her concerns, Marie decided to meditate a little, to allow her disappointment to ease. Thirty minutes later, by the time she toweled off and redressed herself, she was in a better mood.

Later, after dinner, Marie sat in her living room on her one sofa in front of her darkened fireplace. Candles strategically placed throughout the room provided the only illumination, while a selection of light jazz sang from her CD player. Both candles and music filled the room with a warm embrace of offbeat tones and coffee house ambience. She soon relaxed into the back of her couch and, with arms folded in front of her, Marie gazed up at the collection of her five ancient Samurai swords, lost in thought. She found herself ruminating again about the ineffectiveness of her real estate agent and she couldn't help but sigh and say aloud, "Had Hamilton a more persuasive countenance…like Father's, Mrs. Jones would be **begging** to sell her land!"

That wasn't the case, though. It was obvious to Marie that times had changed. Father was long dead and so was the kind of life she once lived, where all she had to do was to wield her sword, to impress upon this Arnold and April Jones the wisdom of cooperating.

She snorted in resignation, _Life was all so simple back then. _

Before long, her mood had soured and so went her relaxed countenance. Consequently, Marie took refuge from her disappointment on the back porch, her favorite place to contemplate. She made a cup of evening tea and then curled herself into her chair. Sip by sip, she savored her drink, both hands holding onto the cup, observing the insects swarm one last time through Sudan's pasture, before night finally overtook her world. It was already sunset, with orange and magenta tinted clouds framing the west and the trees below. They covered most of the darkening sky, the east end of the heavens nearly black. The wind had picked up, as well, and swept through with determination. It gained strength from time to time and seemed edged with the taste of rain.

_Going to be a good one, I think. _

With Marie's mind still focused on her unsuccessful bid to purchase the neighboring farm, she found her gaze drawn towards the west side of her property again. She was really getting tired of looking at it. It reminded her of disappointments and unattainable goals. She smiled, though, confident that at the very least, whoever had invaded her property would not do so again, not without warning her, at least.

Then, another thought came to her.

_Maybe tomorrow, if it isn't raining, I'll explore that area, see how far it runs. Maybe… it's available for purchase. _She then groaned, _Seems I _will_ be calling Mr. Hamilton again. _

Irritated with misjudging her needs, Marie angrily tossed the last dregs of her tea into the bush, and gave one last, long look towards the trees, before going back inside.

Just as Marie had suspected, that night, the storm finally rolled in, bringing with it not only rain, but also thunder and lightening. With her horse safely tucked inside the barn and with her house lights turned off to enjoy the show, she sat in a chair in her darkened dining room and watched the spectacle. She had her seat positioned close to the window overlooking her covered back porch, which gave her a perfect view of nature's best.

One spectacular succession of light-filled explosions overwhelmed her house and rattled the eves, filling her room with sudden, brilliant light. The continuing flash and bang thrilled and frightened her all at the same time.

Then, almost in the next instant, another bright flash lit up the outside and Marie smiled appreciatively, her disappointment from earlier in the day forgotten. A long, darkened pause followed, with another succession of more sustained thunder and lightening on its heels. Once more, she found the interior of her house filled to brimming with sudden noise and light, but as she stared out through the window, she found staring back at her, a wet, bedraggled face, and one that pressed into the pane of glass. Big eyes glowing green from reflected light, the apparition stared up at her in utter misery.

Marie jumped a little, somewhat surprised, but then she relaxed when she realized who it was.

"What are you doing here? I thought you went back home?" she declared. With a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, Marie stood up and went over to the back patio door to let the cat in.

Kitten came trotting inside, as wet as a drowned rat, leaving in his wake a rather generous trail of water.

"Oh, goodness, cat, couldn't you have waited until I got a towel?" Marie complained lightly, somewhat worried about her wood floors.

Kitten meowed, but before the woman could scoop him into her arms, he quickly moved beyond them and headed for the kitchen.

"Well, make yourself at home, why don't you?" Marie chuckled as she followed the trail of wet paw prints.

As Marie walked into the kitchen, Kitten scampered over to where his dish used to be. When he realized it was missing, he began meowing in complaint and looked back at the woman, as if she had insulted him.

"Oh, I see how it is. So, you're not getting fed as well at your other home?" She laughed and went over to the cabinet where she had placed Kitten's dishes, toys, and extra food. She had held off getting rid of the collection until she could decide on whether she would get another cat, but it seemed, for now, that Kitten had decided for her.

After filling one of the dishes with half a can of wet food, Marie placed it on the floor, and watched as Kitten dove in, hungrily feeding as if half-starved. The way he ate wasn't too surprising, either, since he always seemed to eat that way whenever she gave him canned food.

"Well, too bad you can't talk, my friend, as I would love to know who took you."

Marie shook her head and laughed a little, then went and retrieved a towel.

As she gave Kitten a quick once over, sopping up most of the moisture, "Well, considering the weather right now, I think you better stay the night!" 

She then retraced Kitten's path to the kitchen, wiping up the trial of paw prints as she went, ending at the initial puddle when he first came into the house. After tossing the wet towel into the washer in her laundry room, Marie wondered if Kitten's owners would return a second time, to reclaim him, the way they had before. Yet, with the inclement weather raging outside, she was certain anyone sojourning to her property this evening would have to be more than crazy. Confident that they would wait until the next day, she relaxed and enjoyed the evening with her cat.

Two hours later, Marie and Kitten were both ensconced in bed, the woman lying on her side, breathing rhythmically, and facing her partially opened bedroom window. The storm had passed only moments before she retired, so Marie had it opened a few inches, to allow a breath of fresh air to circulate into her room.

Now, with her legs drawn up behind her and creating a perfect niche for the cat, Kitten nestled comfortably within, with both human and feline fast asleep.

It was subtle and subdued, but she felt it just the same. She sat bolt upright in bed, waking her cat in the process. Kitten meowed once in complaint and stood up, tail partially erect, indicating that he, too, seemed bothered. Blindly, she reached over and stroked him, calming him down, quieting him, but something had disturbed the peace in the house. Even Kitten had sensed it. Marie stilled her breath and listened, allowing the silence of the night to envelop her.

She heard nothing. So, why she was awake? The alarm hadn't gone off, so what had disturbed her sleep? A brief circulation of air suddenly passed through her room from her hallway, obviously drawn to her partially opened bedroom window. It smelled like outside air, too, but just as she assessed its origins, it was gone, replaced with the warm caress of the more familiar interior smells.

Someone was inside her house - and had closed the door behind them! That someone not only was in side her house, but they had managed NOT to trip her alarm, as well. Marie growled and wondered angrily what kind of a system Stan had sold her.

_If he tried to sell me crap, he's going to regret **that** misjudgment!_ and she couldn't help but huff in irritation.

Not wasting a moment, Marie jumped out of bed, with Kitten leaping off in equal concern, quite confused by his mistress's behavior. He meowed in protest as the woman hurried to her closet to undress out of her nightgown. The cat followed.

Hidden behind where her regular clothes hung, the woman grabbed her pair of black Hakama pants draped on a hook. After slipping them on, she did likewise with a long-sleeved shirt of the same color and then grabbed her one pair of tabi boots from the bottom drawer of the built-in closet bureau. Once dressed, Marie strapped the cuffs of her pants tight around her lower ankles. Next, came the hood, retrieved from the same drawer as her boots, and as she pulled it down over her head, Kitten - who had sat outside the closet watching her - went wide-eyed with the sudden change in the woman's appearance.

With only eye slits in her hood in which to see through, Marie appeared quite threatening, and when she turned to look at her cat, his tail puffed in surprise. She had to repress a laugh, because normally it wasn't much of a tail, but puffed up the way it was now, made him look like one of the squirrels in the forest.

"It's all right, Kitten," she chuckled, "come here," Marie coaxed, her voice muffled through the hood, yet it was still discernable. She crouched and implored with open hands for her cat to come to her.

Although her clothing had changed, Marie's voice had not, and neither did her scent. The cat eagerly complied. Once she had him scooped into her arms, she hurried out of her room, keeping to the shadows as she passed in front of the stairwell. Once Marie had Kitten placed into the first spare bedroom at the opposite side of the hallway, she secured the door and ran back to her room. She next headed for the partially opened window.

Standing away from and just beyond reach of the moon's soft beams, she watched the barn below, a hundred yards away. With her eyes adjusted to the dark, she waited, alert to any movement outside. From where she stood, she had a perfect view. Anything, or anyone, crossing the pasture from the woods and heading towards the barn where she had Sudan stalled wouldn't have the advantage of cover.

She also knew that whoever had invaded her property was probably the same one who had done so only a few days earlier. If they repeated their method of operation from then, they would probably attempt to get Sudan to protest, to get her attention, thereby drawing her downstairs and over to the barn. However, in order for them to get there, they would first have to cross the pasture from the west. That route would expose them completely. If they believed she would follow her initial response as from before, they would probably wait until she was just short of entering the outbuilding before spooking Sudan from his shelter.

That is, if she repeated her actions from before.

This time, though, Marie would have to trust her horse to stay on property. This time, Marie was determined to catch a thief and if said thief dared enter her house, she would have the advantage of surprise.

While she stood there by the window, she felt a presence behind her. It was nearby and closer than it should be. It was noiseless and without form, yet it was there nonetheless; she could sense it.

From down the hallway in the spare bedroom Kitten mewed from behind the closed door, confused, and not at all happy with his temporary quarantine.

Nevertheless, Marie knew the presence wasn't the cat, but someone else, and, that someone else had already invaded her home. It set the hairs on her head on end, or would have had she not been wearing her hood.

Marie growled inwardly, _"Okay, change in plans, I assume? Fine by me." _and she moved soundlessly towards her bedroom door. She grabbed a shuriken from the drawer where she kept her boots and hood, and pocketed it quickly.

_Always be prepared_, her father had taught her. Such teachings were hard to repress, especially when they were apart of her life for so long. Consequently, she had kept most, if not all of her weapons, hiding them for years in secret locations, until she had made enough changes in and to herself to be certain that no one would be coming for her to exact revenge or to restore some outdated version of honor.

Now, other than her throwing stars, she housed the rest of her collection under lock and key, downstairs in her basement, and in a separate room she had built and one she used on occasion as a dojo.

_I'd make a good Girl Scout, _she half laughed to herself, but then refocused her concentration again.

Moving quietly through her opened bedroom door, Marie eased up alongside the wall just shy of the staircase, and waited.

There was movement down below, in the living room, or maybe the kitchen. Regardless, she could feel it. Whoever it was moved slow and cautious, taking their time. Maybe they were casing her place, checking things out, trying to ascertain who she was. Once again, Marie thanked her training. She closed her eyes and concentrated harder.

She sensed one presence in the house, but Marie knew better than to accept it as that. She concentrated hard and then, felt another, but this one seemed to be outside, watching, waiting.

_Hmm…smart, very smart! _

However, there was something familiar with them, something odd, a feeling that she hadn't sensed in a very long time. Something from her past and in that moment, when reality clicked, when she realized the presence at her window days earlier matched the one she now felt, Marie's eyes snapped open in sudden, horrific understanding.

_Good god, they are alive…and… they live…**here**? Could my life get any more bizarre? _

x x x x x x x x

**_TBC _**


	7. Intruder Alert!  Intruder Alert!

**_Disclaimer -_**_Sorry for the wait.__ Between life and plot bunnies…and my daughter finally getting home after a two-month teaching stint in the Philippines, I've had the hardest time concentrating on this fic, even though I have most of it written out already. As is often the case with having things already written out, my proofreading only broadened its length, so this chapter is only one-half of what it was originally. Otherwise, readers would have had to trudge through over 6,000 words! _

_Okay, now for the disclaimer.__ I don't own ninja turtles. Fair enough._

_x x x x x x _

**Chapter 7 - Intruder Alert!**** Intruder Alert!**

Marie stood there in the darkened hallway, her heart pounding, hands perspiring. She then rolled her eyes, mentally berating herself, _Get a grip, girl; this is old stuff, you, used to do this all the time_.

Regardless, she never thought she would ever find herself in this position again. How long had it been, twenty years?

Too long ago, it seemed, and Marie knew that she wasn't ready, not for this kind of assault. Yes, she had kept herself in shape, but not for fighting, not against - _them!_ After all, for two decades she believed them dead. Moreover, with her own orchestrated demise, the past twenty years had allowed her to retire from what had been a regular habit of keeping herself battle-ready.

As she pressed her body against the hallway wall and processed her situation, Marie pledged herself that from now on, she would do to two hours each day in her dojo…that is, if she survived the night.

Right now, she needed a plan. She glanced quickly back towards her room, wishing she had taken more than the one shuriken.

_My over-confidence will be the death of me, yet_! she hissed under her breath, _I should know better than to assume anything. What's wrong with me? _

However, despite her misgivings about her lack of preparation, Marie was certain of one thing. Her intruders had timed their break-in to coincide with her being asleep in bed. How did they know who she was? They didn't! And, she highly doubted their intention was to harm her. If she knew them as well as she did - and she DID - they didn't make a habit of breaking and entering - not unless living in the country had forced them to change. Once again, she rolled her eyes. No, she was certain nothing would change them that much. More than likely, they only wanted the cat.

_But, why them, of all…**people**… to own a - a CAT? _

Marie shook her head, rather amused with the thought.

She then considered going back into her bedroom, maybe exit through the window, but she was sure any movement on her part would alert those downstairs.

Suddenly, she wondered about that.

_Hmmm_, _maybe that's what I need to do?_

Deciding the best course of action would be to react as any normal person would with someone in their house, uninvited, and at night, Marie called out, **"Who's there?"** using a slightly southern accent, tinged with fear , **"If ya'll don't leave, I'll…I'll call the po-lice!" **Marie then flipped on the hall light for added effect, staying where she was, though, if only because of how she was dressed.

Immediately, she sensed a quick flurry of movement downstairs, the disturbance of air bringing with it the smell of outside. As it worked its way up the staircase and into the hall, she realized then that someone had opened one of the exterior doors. Whoever had invaded her home had apparently just vacated the premises and with hurried abandon, too. She waited, though, holding her breath, not at all eager to go charging downstairs. Training told her that whoever it was might have deliberately made their exodus obvious, if only to entice her out into the open. And she was sure she had felt two intruders, so it was quite possible that the one outside had come inside the house.

_Hmmm...Crafty little ninjas, aren't you?_ she remarked derisively under her breath.

Nevertheless, she couldn't present herself just yet. She wasn't dressed the way most women would be at this hour - or any hour, if one were to split hairs. If she marched downstairs, now, clothed in her black doji uniform and hood, Marie would leave no doubt to them as to who she was. If not because of who she was, then most certainly what she used to be.

In one sudden and frustrating second, Marie felt the element of surprise evaporate into thin air.

Rather than dwell on her failure, she slowly eased back to her bedroom and into her closet. As she turned towards her walk-in, Marie gave one quick glance to her window, relieved to see that it still showed as a quarter of the way opened.

_Well, seems they haven't discovered that, yet, but I best not hold my breath; it won't take them long to find it._

The woman then stepped quickly into her closet and retrieved another shuriken from the bottom drawer of her built-in dresser. As she reached for her robe, however, she felt a disturbance behind her, and so she poked her head out of the doorway. Once again, she saw that her window was still in the same raised position as it was before. She shook her head and sighed, _Hmm…guess I'm more worked up than I thought._

Moving quickly and knowing she didn't have much time, she turned back around and went about removing her hood and tabi boots. Shoving her feet into her slippers, Marie next shrugged on a long-sleeved, floor-length robe, and dropped a throwing star into each pocket. Before turning to exit the closet, however, she took two, deep, measured breaths and then exhaled, focusing her mind on the task ahead. When she had calmed, Marie felt ready to meet her adversaries.

Quietly stepping from the walk-in closet, the moment she did, Marie felt something out of place. There was air movement; too much of it, in fact.

Her eyes snapped up to glare at the window and the moment she saw its gaping, wide-opened position, three things happened at once.

First, the hallway lights went out, collapsing her room into sudden, dark again. Afterimages of the window swam before her, the meager amount of cloud-diffused light hardly enough to counterbalance the effect. She had her hand in her pocket in an instant, grabbing a star, but before she could pull it out, turn, and throw it, a muscle-bound arm snaked around her body, keeping her arms tight and stationary against her side. At the same time, a large, thick-fingered hand wrapped quickly around her mouth, effectively silencing any protest. Whoever had grabbed Marie quickly pulled her up against him in a restricted embrace. All the while, she tried to struggle, but his grip on both her mouth and around her torso tightened considerably.

Her back to his front, his body felt like a rock wall against her spine. She could smell him, too, and her eyes went wider still, but the afterimage of her room still dominated her vision. She blinked quickly, trying to rid herself of the annoying effect, to force her eyes to adjust, and as Marie attempted to cry out, to protest, the constricting hand on her mouth tightened even more, keeping her mute.

Suddenly, the one holding her prisoner spoke. It was a voice from her past, whisper soft, and sounding almost apologetic.

"I'm sorry for breaking and entering, Ma'm."

He sounded older, more mature.

"We figured that you would be…asleep, not awake." He sighed, then, almost in regret, and then he explained, speaking into her hair, "All we really want is the cat. Nothing else. Not even you. I promise…on my word of honor."

Marie struggled, trying to put her assailant off balance. In response, he pulled her head back and she felt the strain, and then wondered why her head hadn't bounced into his snout. Yet, before she could any more thought to it, she felt herself swung her around and now she faced the pitch-black hallway. Finding herself unbalanced and her eyes now having to deal with an even blacker dark, she struggled once more. This time, her captor wrapped a leg around both of hers to keep her from using them. Despite her struggles, he proved strong and quite capable of restraining her.

"Com'on, I'm not going to hurt you, we only want the cat." He sounded annoyed, now, "so…where is he?" he asked and then Kitten suddenly meowed. The voice seemed to cheer, "Ah, there he is."

Almost on cue, the second intruder was up the stairs and hurrying into the hallway. With his bulk well hidden among the dark passage, Marie's eyes were barely adjusting, yet she still couldn't tell which one of the four it was. She cursed under the hand covering her mouth and then blinked in rapid succession, again, hoping her vision would hurry up. She fumed silently, wanting to struggle, but fearing that if she did, he would tighten his 'hug' even more. His strength impressed her; already she was having problems breathing.

Before long, the one in the hallway arrived at the other bedroom, the bedroom where Marie had put Kitten. She heard Kitten meow more insistently, now, and as the other intruder opened the door, its plaintive cries seemed more pronounced. Then, it changed and if Marie discerned his tone correctly, the cat seemed genuinely happy to see whoever had freed it!

_Yep, the owners, again_, she thought with mild annoyance and then promised, _Next time Kitten comes around, I'm sending out invites!_

As the other figure turned and left the hallway for the stairs, it was in that moment Marie's eyes finally became one with the dark and, for a fraction of a second, she saw purple. Then, Purple disappeared downstairs, his steps silent, while a cat chortled in his arms.

And in the next fraction of a second, Marie understood why her alarm system hadn't activated. It was obvious that the one wearing purple had somehow compromised the sensors. What little she knew about them, the one who retrieved Kitten had a magical touch with electronics.

_Mystery solved, I guess._

Then the one holding onto her instructed, his voice just as soft as before, "Now, I want you to stay right like that, facing the hallway." Marie felt her captor's breath as he brought his face close to the right side of hers, directly behind her ear. It tickled. She tried to turn towards his face, but he wouldn't let her, so she did strained her eyes to look as far to the right as she could. When she saw the barest hint of blue along the outer edged, grayed down from the dark confines of her bedroom, her eyes widened, and her breath hitched. She then felt her heart tightened and it confused her terribly. What she was feeling, she couldn't say, but one thing she did know. Something wasn't right with the color, its position seemed…slightly higher on his face than she last remembered, as if he was…taller, somehow.

_Did he grow taller?_ Marie wondered, but then thought that was ridiculous. _Must be the way he's holding me,_ she reasoned.

From his position behind her, she could smell his breath. It smelled like peanut butter and his voice didn't sound harsh or unkind, but he was quite insistent with his next set of instructions, "**Don't** turn around, okay? We don't mean you harm; we just want our cat back."

Marie pressed her eyes hard against the side of their sockets, noticing the bottom edge of blue crinkle up. _Is he smiling?_ she wondered silently.

"Maybe we should have come in the morning and talk to you about it, but - we prefer anonymity, we…have our reasons to stay hidden." He seemed to move his head behind her, again, and he chuckled, as if trying to defuse the awkwardness, "And it appears Klunk likes it here, he seems to like you, but… my brother needs him more than you do. Again, I apologize about breaking into your home. We…don't usually work like this. And, we prefer no quarrel." He then tensed, shifting his leg around hers just a little, as if ready to bolt, "Now, promise me that you won't scream and I'll be out of your way before you can even inhale."

Marie nodded once, feigning compliance…and then mentally prepared.

The moment she felt her arms free, Marie quickly snapped her hand out of her pocket and, like a viper, whipped around to lob a throwing star towards the window.

****

**_KA-THUNK-ing _**

Dull and pinging; Marie knew she had hit her mark, but instead of the star embedded into her captor, the window frame sported a new accessory.

As a body - large and bulky, - jumped headfirst out the window, in its wake, Marie caught the faintest indication of a humped back and then a bandanna tail before both disappeared into the night. By the time she ran to the sill and looked out, her intruder had already gone, leaving no trace of his passing.

Nevertheless, gazing intently into the dark, she couldn't help but yell after them, thoroughly annoyed, not only with them, but with herself, as well, **"**THAT WAS A** _WARNING_. Next time, CALL ahead!"**

Suddenly, Marie felt a rush of air blow past her from the hallway towards the window. In an instant, she had turned around, anticipating a third intruder, instantly angry with herself for her lack of preparation. What she saw, now that her eyes had adjusted, was her empty room and a hallway equally as devoid of any trespassers. What she felt, though, was airflow, obviously drawn to the opened window from somewhere downstairs.

_Great, and they didn't even have the decency to close the door behind him_. _One would think they lived in a barn, _she complained.

Nevertheless, Marie now found herself at an impasse, and she snorted in frustration. Should she strip off her robe and chase after them? If they were who she suspected they were, then by doing so might only bring another conflict to her doorstep, and she had dearly tired of such adventures.

Wasn't that the reason for her disappearing in the first place?

Still, if what she suspected was true - and the more she stood there at her window and thought about it, the more she knew she was right - then she had a choice to make. It wasn't a choice that Marie wanted to make, either, as she rather liked where she lived. But, if this latest episode was indicative of things to come, if Kitten continued making sojourns to her house, if '_they'_ kept coming back to retrieve him and in the way they did tonight… then…she would have no other choice but to move.

Either that, or make a formal announcement of herself.

Part of her wanted to, since a large part of her wanted to forgive and forget. Of course, another part of her told her that to do so could end up disastrous. And, as for running away, she thought it cowardly.

As she looked out her window and the woods beyond, she heard a cat meow. It was faint and growing fainter still, but it sounded happy. Why the cat seemed drawn to her, however - other than because of the canned food she offered it - mystified the woman. Once more, she found herself facing a second loss and Marie's throat constricted again.

And, once more, the woman thought she had lost her mind.

"Must definitely be going senile!" she sighed and closed the window. After she locked it, she then went downstairs to turn on all the lights, to chase away the dark. Once Marie had all the exterior doors secured again, she made herself a cup of tea, to settle her nerves, and to ponder some more about her situation.

_Imagine, all my research and not only do I end up with neighbors, but I end up with the same ones I had in New York City. _

Outside on the roof and unbeknownst to Marie stood her intruder, waiting, listening, staring out across the expansive property towards the woods. He listened as Don made his way to the farm with Klunk, the cat's meows growing fainter and more distant with each minute. When he was satisfied his brother was well on his way home, Leo crouched into a squat and studied the shingles under his feet.

She smelled familiar. When he held her, when he talked into her hair, her scent came to him like a distant memory. There was the usual perfume of shampoo and conditioner, but there was…something else, something…more. The closeness of her body to his seemed electrifying. It confused him. It had been years, decades, since he had last felt anything like that, but…she was dead. He killed her himself and for a moment, reliving that memory, his throat tightened, a combination of grief and resolve almost strangling.

Suddenly, he shook his head, ridding himself of the feeling, not wanting to reflect on such a memory. No, this woman was not Karai. Karai was long dead, his sword had made sure. What she did to his family had sentenced her to death, no matter how he had once felt about her. And she died silently, too, as any ninja should, not even begging for her life…which was fine by him. Never again did he ever want to hear her voice, for it was the voice of lies, a voice of betrayal.

This woman he met tonight, the one he now habitually spied on, there was something about her, though, something familiar…and it…confused him.

After an hour had passed and certain that she had turned in for the night, when he was sure the woman hadn't called the authorities, Leo turned and trekked carefully atop the roof to the westernmost side of the house. His step was light, precise, yet most roofs would give here and there. Not this roof, though. He was quite impressed with the construction, for not a creak sang out to betray his passing.

Finally reaching the far edge closest to the forest, he noiselessly leapt to the ground. Soon, Leo was in the forest, running to catch up with Don, old memories and desires and unsettling feelings hounding his steps.

**_TBC_**


	8. Covert Operations

**_Disclaimer - _**_Own nothing but the shirt on my back, Sudan, the house, the creek, and the last one hundred yards of Marie's driveway! Bwahaha! _

_Thanks for reading:0)_

x x x x x x x

**Chapter 8 - Covert Operations**

As Marie laid there in bed, before sleep overtook her, she thought about the events from just a few hours earlier. She knew her old ways would have her paying a visit to the farm rather than reclining under her covers. She would then leave her calling card - namely a set of well-aimed shurikens - and in that way challenge her adversaries to a fateful meeting. In her past life, this was what she would have done.

Not now, though.

Now, she realized once again that she had to play by different rules. More to the point, Marie just wanted to get on with life, her _new_ life, the one she had lived for the past twenty years. Instincts from a lifetime of fighting might still be there, but she was stronger than whatever subconscious reaction she might have.

And, it took all of her resolve not to pop up out of bed and dress to go and do what came naturally for her, too.

_Maybe this latest episode will be the last and the cat would stay put_.

Marie laughed, however. She knew she was only kidding herself. The cat liked her; it was just a fact. Well, he liked what she fed him, anyway, and it knew better than to bite the hand that feeds it. In short, Marie's house was the cat's version of the local candy store.

_"Should have stuck to dry food, I guess, instead of trying to spoil him. THAT certainly backfired!"_

After a while though and as the tea she partook of earlier began doing its magic, Marie felt the pull of sleep and finally conceded, drifting off to a fitful rest, her bedroom window closed up tight, along with the rest of the house.

x x x x x

The next day, undeterred by the break-in, Marie went about installing the rest of her security system. By noon, she had everything up and running. And everything worked perfectly, too - without a hitch.

"So, why in hell didn't it go off last night?" she fumed, _unless they reset it on their way out?_

Once again, she recalled the intruder, the one wearing purple, and the more she thought about him, the more Marie was certain who he was. If her original assumptions were correct, he would have the ability to not only compromise her alarm, but also have it working again when he left, as if nothing had happened.

Suddenly, she laughed loudly, "Hell, he could compromise the Pentagon, if he wanted to, and no one would ever know."

It explained so much, really, yet Marie wanted to know exactly where in the woods they had crossed onto her property. So, she went back out to the woods along the westernmost side of her land, taking extra effort to inspect each tree and rock. After an hour of checking all the places that she had applied sensors, when she found one just slightly off kilter on a tree from where she had placed it, that confirmed her suspicions.

_Must be getting old or careless; can't believe he would be so inept not put it back in its **exact** location_.

That puzzled her, but, regardless, she still admired him. To compromise such an intricate and detailed sensor like what she installed and in a way so as not to trigger it took skill and intellect. Of course, since they now knew she had a security system, it only meant that she was going to have to double up. The ones she just installed would have to be the decoys, now, but she would keep them active, just to give her adversaries something to believe in.

Yet, what bothered her more was why would they even look for them? What inspired them to check for sensors in the first place?

Standing there in the woods, though, and with her back facing west, a sudden realization finally hit, and Marie's blood ran cold.

It was obvious that one of them had tracked her throughout the process of installing the sensors and her spine stiffened with apprehension. Yet, once more, she found herself mystified.

How was it possible for them to do that, when she had the ability to sense such spying? Could it be that over the years, they developed a way to move about undetected, even from one skilled in the nuances of ninjitsu? For that matter, maybe one of them was in the forest this very moment, watching her, waiting to see what she would do.

Debating about turning around and shouting into the woods, to tell them to leave her 'the hell' alone, Marie chose otherwise. Although she had a new reputation to uphold, one that mirrored her adopted persona, there were just some things her old pride would not let her do…And shouting to the trees and giving her old nemesis an excuse to laugh at her was one of them.

Still, she found herself turning around, checking the shadows, the upper branches of the trees, everywhere she thought would be a good hiding place. She listened to the wind, the way it moved through the forest, listening for any subtle changes, however small, but nothing registered as odd or different.

_Hmm…maybe all they wanted was the cat and their anonymity. _

Marie could well understand anonymity. Wasn't disappearing from the world her own goal, too? Wasn't living below the radar something she desired for herself, as well?

Just the same, it did NOT excuse their behavior. They had trespassed and compromised something that wasn't theirs. They had friends, didn't they? Couldn't they have asked one of them to pay her a visit, inquire about the cat? There were better ways to get around their little problem than trespassing and breaking into her home.

_Ah, but they're probably bored out of their minds living out here, so maybe for them, it was an adventure, something to do._

Sighing and realizing the futility of installing a second set of sensors in the forest, though, Marie decided that outfitting her home with a separate system would be more beneficial. She just had to be more covert about it, more so than how she was before.

_Next time, I won't assume anything; I'll be more prepared!_

And, Marie decided that, from now on, she would keep a weapon by her bedside, just in case. After all, they had already been in her home, so she was certain they had noticed the swords above the fireplace. They were ninja after all, so they would notice such details.

More so, she knew that _they_ knew the difference between ornamental _and_ the real thing.

Nevertheless, throughout the rest of the day, she kept watch for Kitten, hoping he would at last stay where he was supposed to be…or need to be, if what the intruder said about his brother was true. Yes, she dearly loved the cat, but the truth of the matter was she disliked confrontations more. What she went through just hours earlier wasn't something Marie cared to do again.

After she completed her task for the day, she retired to her home, showered off the sweat and grime, then shrugged into clean clothes. Then, she went downstairs and fixed herself a glass of iced tea. Only two sips into her drink she decided a trip to town would be good for her and with a new goal in mind, she thumbed through the phone book in search of a retailer for personal home security. When she found one of interest, she was elated to discover the establishment was the town just east of the village closest to her. In celebration, the woman took a long swig of her iced drink but gave a thought about calling Stan again.

_Hmm…I'm sure he would have something benign looking, innocent enough that it would fool even the most astute ninja…_

However, Marie shook her head and sighed, "Nope, gonna keep it simple."

She knew that too many meetings with Stan too close together in time might not be wise. It could create a bit of curiosity about her and where the last time she used him was the first time in two decades, she had to be careful. Marie knew all too well about leaving a lasting impression on someone who dealt covertly with criminals and other distasteful clients.

Her mind made up, she dialed the phone number, and suddenly smiled, _After I'm done with this, maybe I'll run by the pet store and see about getting a kitten._

As on the other end of the phone rang, Marie next wondered about leaving her property unattended. The more she thought about it, though, she reasoned her trespassers already had what was important to them. It wouldn't make sense for them to pay her another visit so soon after the last one. If she understood them as well as she did, they would now stay away, that is until the cat wandered off again.

_Hopefully, they'll keep the cat inside this time. I know I would. _

Finally, after someone answered the phone, it only took five minutes of talking to the proprietor for Marie to list her needs and to find out he had what she wanted. After she ended the call, she finished off her iced tea and then went about locking up her house. She had only two hours before the sun would set. By the time she would return home, it would be close to dinner, so Marie decided that evening would be pizza night.

Whistling a tune, she made sure to secure Sudan in his pasture and once he settled in, a few minutes later found Marie in her H3, heading down the long driveway towards the main road.

She drove one-handed, cruising along at a reasonable clip, taking the bumps and turns with practiced ease. Thinking more on her situation caused her to sigh. Marie truly loved where she was, so it was hard thinking about leaving it. Maybe if Kitten stayed put, his owners would, too, and the two farms could live in harmony, with one owner oblivious to the other's identity.

Yes, she knew she was just kidding herself. Eventually, Kitten would find his way back, again, if only for the canned food.

_Maybe if I just do it, confront them, drive up to their place, maybe bring a _coffeecake_ as a peace offering._ She had to laugh at that, it seemed terribly funny to her. An ex-ninja and an enemy of her neighbor, to come 'a calling', with pastry in hand?

_Sounds like a parody skit from one of those on-line video sites. _She laughed at the thought.

Fifteen minutes later and one hundred fifty yards from the main road, Marie prepared to shut down her security system. It wouldn't do for her to trip the alarm. How embarrassing would that be? To aid her in spotting the area, she had placed a reflective piece of foil on marker by an old oak, right where her ownership of the road ceased. In fact, she had applied the last sensor to the same oak. It stood proudly next to the road and when Marie saw it, she pressed the off button on her remote.

As her H3 passed by the indicator, Marie was just about to reset the system again, when she gave a casual glance in her side mirror. She wasn't expecting anything in particular, not really, as it was just an old habit of hers.

_Be fully aware of your surroundings, no matter where you are_, her father had taught her.

However, when she glanced in the mirror, saw noticed something odd, just off the road. It was something that hadn't been there before. It was new and, so, her eyes narrowed curiously.

_Hmm…I don't recall seeing…_

And then...it moved! It wasn't much, but she saw it move. With the shadow play among the closely grouped trees, the 'something' looked just like a tree stump, dark, and rounded…but it moved nonetheless!

Marie's eyes widened. She couldn't tell if it was a stump (or a head?), but tree stumps were usually, if not always, stationary.

_That is no tree stump!_ Marie suddenly declared, anger welling up inside of her.

She had all she could do to keep from braking to a hard stop, but she didn't. Marie pressed on, continuing to drive, her relaxed mouth now changed to that of a straight and determined line. She itched to stop the car, though, to slide it into a ninety-degree spin, to turn around and barrel back, but she knew she had to follow through, to appear as if she were indeed leaving the property.

What surprised her most was that if it was one of her interlopers from last night, it seemed uncharacteristic of him to make such an early move like that. He should have waited until she was on the main highway and heading to town. In fact, he should have given it a week or even a month before making a second visit.

"Must be getting old…just like me!" she chuckled aloud. "Guess we're both making mistakes."

And then, another ice-cold realization hit her.

_He came back to investigate me!_

Clicking the security feature back on again, Marie soon made the highway. She turned right and after traveling a quarter mile up the road towards town, she found a pullout, and turned into it. Maneuvering her car carefully in-between the trees and a thick stand of brush to hide her oversized vehicle, once she stopped, she quickly exited, but quietly shut the door. Triggering her key fob, she ran to the back as the rear hatch obediently sprang up. Marie never hesitated as she pulled up the carpeting to reveal three imbedded compartments underneath. She opened two. Once again, she thanked old habits. It was rather ironic that as hard as she tried to blend in, to leave her past behind, Marie still felt compelled to keep some aspects of it with her.

_A Girl Scout indeed_, she chuckled with amusement.

From the first compartment, Marie grabbed up a sheathed wazikashi knife she kept there for emergencies. Most people had batteries or water or even spare parts for their car. Marie made sure she had weapons!

After securing the knife to her belt by the Velcro straps, she then took from the second storage area a small, black pouch wherein she kept four throwing stars. Once she had the pouch attached to her belt on the opposite side from where she secured her knife, Marie closed both compartments, and the back hatch, and then locked the car. After shoving her keys inside her socks for safekeeping, Marie turned and headed off into the woods towards home, alarm remote in hand.

Cutting straight across had its advantages. It took less time and she soon arrived close to where her property line began - at least according to Mr. Hamilton's 'hundred yard rule'. She easily recognized a tree upon which she had installed a remote, so she quickly shut down the alarm and crossed onto her property, resetting the sensor again when she was safe on the other side.

As Marie pushed her way through the undergrowth, she found it somewhat difficult, especially with having to be quiet at the same time. This pleased her. Most people would avoid passing this way, but then she reminded herself that her interlopers were not most people. At one point, she had to cross a creek, which was deeper than usual, due to the previous night's storm. It wasn't running fast, though, and it seemed to be receding a bit, too, so she only found herself knee-deep in the cool water. By the time she made it to the other side, she was soaked from her knees down to her shoes, but it didn't dampen her resolve. Marie had worked under tougher conditions than that.

From the creek, the grade of the land rose abruptly, forming a small cliff. It wasn't very tall, but it did cause her to reconsider finding an easier way. Unfortunately, it only grew in height as it ran towards her driveway. It would cost her time to find a shallower rise. So, she dug in and climbed.

By the time she arrived at the top, she was filthy. Now muddy and grimy, she was more one with her environment than before, her once clean jeans and white shirt blending well with the surrounding terrain. She smiled appreciatively.

Using shadows to hide in, Marie kept low to the ground and behind as much brush and trees as possible. Fortunately, just as it was on the western side of her property, the land here was equally as dense, so she could work quickly without fear of discovery. Marie soon found herself within view of her road. The only problem was, beyond that point, she didn't have any more heavy cover. Consequently, she had to squat behind a bush, a tree to her back, and for a moment, Marie remembered her experience from weeks earlier.

_Deje vu - all over again, _she thought bemusedly.

And, as fortune smiled down on her, she found herself right at the bend when she had discovered the odd shape.

Now, she had a clear view of the stump…only…it wasn't there anymore, which only confirmed her suspicions. Someone had been there and watched her leave. Someone not _only_ watched her leave, but someone had been watching her house and at the exact precise time to know when she was leaving.

_Hmm…maybe I caused them too much suspicion,_ she growled, _Maybe throwing that star wasn't such a bright idea after all._

Now, her eyes narrowed to slits. She knew that this was one confrontation ending with someone wishing they had stayed off her property. New life or not, Marie had very little tolerance for anyone spying on her, let alone trespassing.

Starting out for her house, the woman kept to the woods rather than use the road. She knew she had a little less than two miles to reach her place and if the other person was hurrying, just for prudence sake, she had to, as well. The dense woods would make it easier for her to run and do so unobserved, and so Marie moved quickly, silently, and efficiently. Although she knew her muddy clothes would help hide her in the bramble, once she made it to her house, she would have to find another way to get there. Because of the clearing surrounding it, there was little in the way of cover.

_Who would have thought that I'd need cover, just to get inside my own home?_

****

Overall, it took her twenty minutes to make it back to where her property opened up. As she stood deep among the shadows, making sure she had a clear view of the house, she hoped the other person had already arrived. It would be just her luck to beat him, only to have him come upon her instead. Yet, if he took off the moment she hit the main highway and followed the road, more than likely was already inside, that is if he planned to do any snooping while she was 'gone'.

As Marie crouched, keeping a low profile, she glanced at her watch._Twelve-thirty p.m._

The sun would certainly not be in her favor today.

Her house sat a tempting half acre away. It wasn't far, really, but with not much between it and her, it might as well have been a thousand miles. So, Marie kept herself small as she began walking towards the back, keeping silent, and heading for the barn area. Marie knew the southeastern corner of Sudan's shelter would hide her presence from anyone in the house. If she came up behind it at that angle, she should be able to get to it without someone seeing her.

As the woods thinned out a bit, she crept further in, losing sight of the house for a few minutes as she worked her way through a thicker stand of trees. She followed their closely-knit growth for about twenty yards until she found adequate cover that allowed her to maneuver towards the barn again.

Just as she came to that end of the property and began assessing the distance between where she was and where she needed to be, a familiar voice suddenly broke through her concentration. It seemed to originate north of the barn, right at the point when she had to go deeper into the woods to keep undercover.

_Just my luck!_

Nevertheless, the voice sent chills up her spine.

**"Hey, Donnie, hurry it up, you have to see the fireplace! She's got some serious weaponry on display!"**

It was the same voice she heard the night before and it was coming from the house, too!

Now, Marie's plans changed. She had to see the person who was talking, because she knew the voice. The only problem was the barn stood between her and him. It might have blinded anyone from that end from seeing her, but it certainly worked as well the other way, too.

_What to do_, she thought, _do I make for the barn? I can't go back around to see who's talking, because there isn't enough…**wait a minute**…did he just say_... Mariedid a mental double take…_Donnie?_ Her breathe stilled. Although she had been quite certain of her assessment to who had compromised her security measures, hearing the very name related to that assumption finalized it, and now her hands began to sweat. _Donnie_, _as in…Donatello…or…Mr. **Tello**? Isn't that the name the realtor mentioned? Would they be one and the same?" _Marie now began to hyperventilate, just a little, not too much, but it was clearly unlike her regardless. _Keep your head, girl…it's been two decades since they last saw you; you have changed too much for them to recognize you, now. _

Marie closed her eyes and did a quick meditation. Then, with her mind made up, she took another deep breath and worked her way quietly back around the way she had come, keeping a low profile. She would find enough cover if it was the last thing she did. She went deeper into the woods to keep herself hidden for as long as possible, working slowly, silently. Then, when she found a small break in the trees that offered a clear enough view of the house and barn, she stopped and listened, watching her home. She was closest to the barn, situated to her left, while the house stood to her far right, a hundred yards away. However, trees obscured the path in-between each structure but at least she could see her home and Sudan's shelter.

Suddenly, a voice coming from her left caught her attention. It seemed muffled, though, as if inside something - such as the barn.

"Hey, Leo, keep your shirt on, I'm coming."

The second voice sounded much closer to Marie and was just as familiar as the first one, although it had been a long time since she had last heard it. He didn't yell as the first voice had, so he had to be closer to her proximity. It was almost as if…and then, as a figure emerged from the barn, Marie saw him. She watched intently but when the trees in front of her obscured his movement, she carefully readjusted her position until she could see him again.

He was going over to the pasture where she had secured her horse.

Although Donatello wasn't wearing his familiar purple bandanna, he did have his weapon of choice. Marie would have recognized him anywhere. Moreover, the scars along his shell were almost a calling card for her, too.

Regardless, what surprised her more was when Sudan trotted up to the fence, ears perked in curiosity. He didn't seem one bit afraid or bothered, but quite interested in the mutant. While the stallion stood there, expectant, Donatello stroked the animal's neck, finding areas along Sudan's head to scratch and it seemed to please the horse, for he nickered pleasantly.

_Humph, so much for a one-owner horse_, she lamented sourly, but then wondered why this turtle wasn't wearing his trademark purple bandanna. _Maybe out here, they don't need it?_

"Hey, her horse is pretty friendly, Leo," Don remarked, affectionately patting the animal's neck while the horse nuzzled Donnie's hand, "'Course, it helps to have sugar cubes!" the mutant laughed and then reached into the right side of his utility belt. He then offered the stallion a small white cube, which the horse eagerly took from him.

_That explains why Sudan's so friendly right now._ _Sudan, you silly horse, your sweet tooth will one day be your undoing! _Marie shook her head, knowing that Donnie had made a life-long friend, so long as the turtle lived past this moment, of course, and so long as he carried sugar cubes with him, too.

"I'm surprised he hasn't tried to bite you," the other voice laugh, obviously belonging to Leonardo.

Marie realized he must be somewhere on or near the porch and so she moved over a bit, to try to see where he was, but her angle wasn't quite right. The trees just weren't being cooperative.

Marie then wondered if she could get inside the garage, from the front. Then, she could surprise them, but she immediately realized the chance of encountering a third mutant. She knew there were a total of four in the Hamato clan, so the chances were good that a third one, or even a fourth, were acting as lookout.

_No, I'm going to have to use the other access, but at least it will lead straight to my dojo and the basement. Then, I can pick a weapon, just in case. I only hope I can get there before they discover it._

She then heard Don reply to his brother's remark, "Hey, horses get their rumps slapped all the time, Leo. Besides, it did the trick the first time we got Klunk the Third back." Don gave Sudan one final pat along the neck and then turned to walk towards the house.

Once again, Marie had to adjust her position, but still found too many trees in her way. So, she resigned herself to just listening, instead.

"Yeah, but we had to do it twice already and quit calling him Klunk Three, you know how Mikey feels about that."

"Yeah, I know, Leo."

Marie noted the sadness in Don's voice and she couldn't help but wonder why. _Did something happen to their brother, Michelangelo?_ That piqued her interest, quite a bit, in fact. _A lot could have happened in twenty years…maybe he's senile? No, he'd be too young for that…then again, they're not human, so…_

She then heard Don again, as he remarked, "And what's with that shuriken she threw at you? I mean, she's an old woman, why would anyone her age toss around ninja weapons?"

"I don't know, bro, but…if I hadn't ducked through that window when I did, she'd have nailed me." He chuckled then, "Anyway, I want to make sure to leave a little note to our would-be ninja."

"What, tell her she had bad aim or something?"

Marie heard Leo laugh and her face narrowed dangerously, _Would-be ninJA?_ In that moment, she had half a mind to take all four stars from her pouch and lob them at the back porch, if only in warning. _I'll show you ninja! _she growled under her breath.

Nevertheless, common sense prevailed and so she refrained from doing so. After all, Donnie had his weapon strapped to his back, so it was easy to assume that Leonardo probably had his pair of swords with him, as well. Shurikens only work if their intended targets were foolish enough to come straight towards the one throwing them, or run away and Marie knew that neither Leo nor Don were fools.

Then, she heard Leonardo again, "Don't know why that cat keeps coming over here, unless she gives him something he can't resist. Just our luck to get a replacement Klunk with wanderlust. Anyway, from now on, we need to keep him indoors; otherwise we'll be over here far more often than we care to."

Don spoke next, "Yeah, I guess you're right," but then he seemed to whine with his next statement, "but that'll mean going to town and getting a litter box and having to provide litter and scooping poop and pee and…"

"So, we'll make Raph do it." Leo laughed, "He's been taking care of every other Mikey-related task so far, and I think it'll be better than having our baby brother worry himself to death over his vagabond cat."

Don chuckled but then changed the subject, "So, tell me about her weapons, Leo. Bet they're fakes!"

"Nope, they're the real deal, just like that star she threw at me. Com'on, we need to hurry, she might not be gone for long."

Marie worked back a little in the opposite direction, trying to see where Leo and Don were, knowing they were both at the house. Finally, she found a spot that opened up, and now she could see the back of her house. However, all she could see was Donatello. Leo was probably already inside, considering the door was wide opened.

As she watched Don walk through the patio doorway, she heard him counter his brother's concerns, "I don't think she'll return right away, Leo. Considering how far town is and everything, we have at least an hour to find out if…." and he closed the patio door, his voice fading to nothing.

Nevertheless, just knowing the turtles were in her house and for the soul purpose of snooping around, caused Marie to curse under her breath. She really wanted to scream in indignation, but she couldn't, not without revealing her whereabouts. Still, she had a deep desire to race to the back of the house and stomp straight up the steps, yelling complaints about trespassers, if only to startle them into leaving.

But, she could very easily put them into a fighting position, too. Even if they did manage to get out of the house without her seeing them, Marie knew they would only be back the next time she left for town - and there wasn't any way that she could remain indefinitely on property. She didn't have enough supplies for that. Next year she would, where she had plans of growing a garden, but not this year.

Consequently, instead of cursing or revealing her presence, Marie sat back on her haunches and silently brooded, mentally ranting on about ninjitsu, stupid clan feuds, and nosey mutant turtles.

**_TBC_**


	9. Eye of the Storm

**_Disclaimer - _**_Again, own nothing but my OC's and the story idea._

****

_This is a coming-out chapter, where the Turtles - at least two of them - finally get their overdue time in the limelight. Gets a little fun in the middle, too. Plus a bit more background on the Turtle's current history…and a hint about Marie's (sort of). _

x x x x x x

**Chapter 9 - Eye of the Storm**

Once Don was inside the house, Marie collected her resolve and quickly worked herself back to the southeastern side of her property again. Marie hoped that the barn's proximity kept the turtles from seeing her progress from where they were, so her confidence grew just a little more. However, one more task came to mind, that is if her impending confrontation with Leo and Don did not include her demise - or her quick exodus out of Massachusetts.

She needed to install cameras here, at this point, just in case anyone else in the county had a perchance to trespass.

Then, when she believed herself hidden from anyone's observation at the house, she ran quickly across the open space as fast as she could. She kept low to the ground, knowing that she if she couldn't see the house, then more than likely, anyone at the house couldn't see her, either.

Again, she certainly hoped so.

As she made it unchallenged to Sudan's shelter, she paused for a moment, to catch her breath. Leaning up against the eastside wall, she looked north down its length as it ran towards her house. When she felt it safe to do so, Marie moved cautiously along that side of the stable and, as she approached the first window, she slowly, carefully unsheathed her knife.

The window was a shuttered French version, typical of barns, where in good weather one could open it, securing each half against the exterior side of the building. It allowed for the circulation of fresh air. Unfortunately, Marie had closed this one the previous night, just before the last storm system passed through.

Taking her knife, Marie wedged it in-between the two halves, a narrow space barely wide enough for the weapon, and without much trouble, she lifted the drop-arm latch inside. It was a simple mechanism that when engaged lay flush to the wall, so that during the night if Sudan became too antsy, he wouldn't scrap his head or neck. It was quite ancient in design. In fact, a child could have broken-in by using his parent's charge card.

Knowing how the arm would react to its sudden release, though, just as soon as she flipped the lock up and out of the catch, Marie immediately brought her knife down through the slat. Then, as the arm swung around and down, before it could make much more than a softened scrape against the wood framework of the window, her knife stopped its trajectory.

Still, Marie couldn't resist cringing. That one single scrape might have been brief, but it might have been just enough to give away her presence and her position. Considering her adversary, she knew their hearing was quite adept, at least, back when they lived in New York. She could only pray that those inside the house were too busy talking or were positioned somewhere near the front where they couldn't hear her faux pas. To turn back, now, though, was unacceptable; she had come too far not to proceed further.

Pausing just a moment to make sure she still worked unobserved, once satisfied that no one noticed the sound, Marie quickly hoisted herself up and slipped through the opening, careful to keep quiet. When she was inside the barn, she closed the shutters again, but kept them unlocked, just incase she needed a quick retreat before she found her fail-safe exit. It might have been a couple of decades since she last had to work so covertly, but Marie had not forgotten the wisdom of having an alternative escape plan.

She took a deep breath and crept to the west side of the stall, beyond where the central corridor was. Across from that on the other side was the double stall she had Sudan in the night before. To her right was the barn door, wide open, and fully exposed to the house. Still in shadow, Marie cautiously peered out between the slats of the stall. She could see straight through the opened doorway to the house, three hundred feet away. From her angle, she could see the porch clearly, but the door was not as closed as she had first assumed.

_Smart move, turtles, _she remarked silently, although she felt keeping it completely open would have been better, providing a faster retreat for them if they had to get out in a hurry. Still, it did cause her to wonder if maybe they did close it when Don went in, but then had second thoughts about doing so. And, of course, it caused her to worry. Had she turned back too soon? Had they noticed her in the forest, when she returned to the barn area?

_It's been too long since I've had to be this careful_, she sighed.

Regardless, Marie found that the bright noon sun had whitewashed the outside quite thoroughly. With enough light overwhelming the back yard, no one looking out from one of the rear windows would be able to see anything in the barn anyway. In contrast, it made the interior of the stable quite dark.

As Marie's confidence grew, another concern worried her. She tried to remember which way the wind had been blowing, but didn't recall any kind of breeze whatsoever. She could only hope that Sudan wouldn't catch her scent, for if he did, he wouldn't waste much time in begging for her attention. He'd whinny until someone paid him mind and Marie didn't need that to happen, not now.

Sifting her position over to the sliding door of the stall, situated away from the opening, she hesitated. This part of her mission might betray her; that is if the sliding gate made any noise. She might have been lucky with the window, but she really had to be careful, now.

Both of Sudan's stalls were made of wood, topped by metal bars that went all the way to the ceiling. The bars allowed for good air circulation, while the solid wood sides at the bottom kept things nice and warm during the winter - and segregating Sudan's straw bedding where it needed to be. In short, the half wall kept the straw from working its way into the middle corridor, while the more opened top half gave her stallion a nice view of things, keeping him happy.

Quietly, she reached over the wood paneling, unclipped the striker from the latch, and slid the door opened.

A soft, subtle dragging sound whispered along the track in the floor as Marie pulled the door free. Once again, she hoped it went unnoticed by the occupants inside the house. She didn't waste a moment, though, nor did she take time to close the door. Making haste to the storage area where she kept Sudan's bales of hay, Marie moved around behind them and waited, listening, holding her breath, trying to still her beating heart. As recent events had reminded to her, once more she remembered this was why she had faked her death so many years before. This was why she had retired from her father's world, or at least the only world in which he had allowed her to live.

_Still, someone's in my house and desperate times demand desperate measures,_ she hissed silently.

She sat there for just a second longer and focused, trying to concentrate, hoping that those inside her home were not on alert. If they were, then they could very well sense her, too, and that was something that would certainly ruin Marie's plans.

And, as she sat there, she wondered for the first time what exactly her plans were. Did she really think she could engage them in battle, especially at her age? Yes, they were older, too, but - by the looks of Don, with his large corded muscles running along shoulder and arm, thigh and leg - despite her own life-long training with martial arts, Marie would have her work cut out for her. And Leonardo's strength from the night before impressed her greatly. Actually, she was rather amazed with their physique, not at all expecting them to look…so _tight…after all these years,_ and…and…well...**_powerful_**!

That observation alone nearly choked her.

_Good night, woman, take a cold shower when you're done here. _She shook her head to rid herself of the unsavory thoughts. _You're too old for such shenanigans and…more importantly...you're the wrong species!_

Still_, Watch and observer, _her father's words came to her, words he had taught to her, when she was in training, learning her craft so very long ago. _"Whenever you are unsure about what to do, watch and listen, child. Process every detail, let none escape you, and soon…a plan will present itself!"_

_Yeah, sure,_ she chuckled, _but that was back when night was day and day was night and my life wasn't my own, and blood ran like a river._

Nevertheless, Marie determinedly pushed away her distracting thoughts and went over to one particular bale of hay. That bale lay behind the larger stack, one of the narrow ends flush against the rear wall of the barn. The difference between it and the others, however, was that it wasn't real. With its backside hinged to the floor, Marie lifted it up, as she would with any trapdoor.

Still, the moment she pushed the bale of hay back to where it revealed her fail-safe exit and tunnel underneath, the hinge sent out a protesting groan of complaint…and Marie thought for sure she would die of a heart attack!

x x x x x x x

Don walked over to the bedroom window and pensively glanced down at the yard below. His brow pinched together in concern as he studied the barn area. "Did you hear that, Leo?" he asked, turning his head just a bit towards his brother, but at the same time kept his eyes fixed on the outside scenery.

"Hear what?" Leo didn't bother to look up, but continued rummaging through Marie's dresser drawers. He was careful not to overly disturb her things, too, not with how neat she seemed to keep her belongings. "Obsessive compulsive," he mumbled under his breath and then sniggered, "Heh…my kind of gal!"

"Sounds like someone might be in the barn."

"Probably the horse," his brother in blue assured him idly, still not bothering to turn around, as he seemed more focused with looking through the drawer. Unsuccessful with finding what he was looking for, he closed it and went on to the one below it and 'hummed' when he came up empty again.

"No, his pasture is separate, doesn't have an access and I didn't see any other horses when we were in there that night. Did you?"

"Kind of hard to miss a horse, Don, so…No, I didn't see any other horses." Leo huffed a bit in disappointment and then closed the last drawer. As he straightened up to look around the room, "I know she has more weapons. I wonder where she keeps the rest of them, other than those swords over the fireplace."

"Well, I'm pretty certain that there's someone or something out in the barn. It sounded like a door opening, or a lid, like a hinge creaking."

"Seriously," Leo shook his head as he looked over at his troubled brother, "you tell me she'll be gone a whole hour and ten minutes later, you're worrying like a nervous old lady." Leo chuckled and, running out of places to look, made his way over to where Donatello stood by the window.

"Hey, isn't that your job?" Don grinned mischievously.

"I gave it up for lent. Now…" Leo sidled up next to his bo-wearing brother and looked out towards the barn, "what's your problem?"

"My problem is, you're not taking this seriously and I'm wondering if the country life has made you soft in the head."

Leo looked askance at Don, "You know you do a poor imitation of Raphael? You don't have enough _sneer_ in your voice. He's going to be insulted when I tell him." Leo then grinned.

"Shoot," Don snapped his fingers, "and I've been working so hard on fixing that, too."

"I bet you have," Leo smiled wider but then turned to look out the window again, "So, what kind of sound was it?"

"A squeak."

"Seriously?" Leo then laughed, "Well, let's call in the National Guard, shall we?"

"I'll settle for the old Leonardo, if I had a choice." Don raised one eyeridge in reprimand and tsked in annoyance.

"You mean young, cuz I'm already old."

"Aren't we all?"

They both laughed and then stood side by side at the partially opened window, both brothers looking out at the barn a hundred yards away. They watched and waited, but after a few minutes with no further sound issuing forth, Don shrugged, "Might have been the horse. Maybe he was rubbing against the fence or something."

"Or a mouse,"

"He'd kill it, Leo…but then that might account for the squeak."

"What? No, that's not what I meant. I mean…I meant to say, maybe it was a mouse that squeaked."

Don smiled, "Yeah, I knew that; just pulling your leg."

Leo cuffed him in the shoulder and then his eyes brightened, "But, hey, if your hearing is so good that you can hear a mouse way out in that barn over there, then we need to send you back to New York, so you can sniff out wayward remnants of the Foot." He turned back towards the window again, "Want me to go check and make sure it's not a mouse?" Leo asked, grinning, "Maybe it's a mutant mouse."

"Funny, Leo, but, seriously, what if it's some bum or a kid messing around in the barn? If you go out there and run into them, that'll just start that Monster of the Wood myth again. No thank you. I kind of like living anonymously and not having my life imitating art by acting out Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. Forced to go back to the city with its smog, crime, and grime doesn't hold the same appeal for me anymore."

Leo chuckled, "Have to agree with you there, bro. Anyway, let's get back downstairs. Now that we've found those extra shurikens and a doji uniform in her closet, we have more information on her." As he turned he repeated his concerns, "And I know she has more weapons somewhere, she has to."

"Who would have thought we'd end up having a ninja for a neighbor." Don shook his head as he followed Leo out of the bedroom and towards the stairs, "What are we going to do about it, though? I mean, call the cops on her? Yeeeah, I can see that happening." Don chuckled, imaging the phone call, and as me made a falsetto voice, he acted out the call, "OH, OFFICER, PLEASE HURRY! You HAVE to do something, there's a NINJA in the neighborhood."

Leo exploded into a fit of laughter, grabbing the hand railing lest he lose his balance on the stairs. Don joined him, with both busting up over his imitation of a frenzied woman.

"Honestly," Leo gasped, trying to breathe again, "you…you should…DO that. What harm could it do? I mean…they…they couldn't **possibly** take it as a serious complaint, right? GAH, that's hilarious!" And Leo laughed some more.

"With sirens blaring and lights blazing…" Don pretended his hand was a toy car, weaving it along an imaginary road, "…zooming down the highway like the end of the world?" He shook his head, then, "No, can't say they would," Don wiped a tear from his eye, "But, it'd sure give them something to talk about the next day, that's for sure!"

As they eased down the casing, Leo smiled and remarked, "Hey, it could be her costume from Halloween last year."

"Or this years; it's only a few months away."

"Maybe we'll come by that night and see if she has any treats for kids dressed as over grown turtles, what d'ya say?"

Don laughed, "Yeah, relive the old times when we were kids in New York."

A sudden melancholy washed over them and they stopped at the bottom of the stairs, wistfully looking at each another. They smiled and then Leo remarked, draping an arm around Don's shoulder, eyes watery, "Seems like yesterday."

"Seems like forever ago, to me…too long ago, in fact." Don sighed and then shrugged, "Fun times, at least for a while…but…we need to get moving. We've wasted enough time in that closet of hers!"

"Gee, and we still don't have a thing to wear!"

x x x x x x

The moment the hinge protested, Marie had groaned inwardly. The sound wasn't that loud, barely a mouse squeak in tone, but with the quiet countryside as backdrop, anyone inside the house and near a window closest to the barn would have heard it.

_Need to oil the hinges when this is all over, _she growled in annoyance, _especially_ _with all the rain we've been having lately._

Quickly, she slipped beneath the bale of hay and down the ladder and as Marie descended into the dark, the rectangular cube of straw gently lowered on its own, returning to its restful state once again. Now, it looked like nothing more than a condensed collection of hay, with wire ties and all. Unless one was hunting for a trap door and one shaped as horse feed, nothing out of the ordinary indicated that one even existed there.

x x x x x x

Standing in the hallway running behind the living room, aside from the obvious opened doorways leading to the kitchen and dining room, the two brothers had found a coat closet, a linen closet, and a small half-bath with a sink and toilet. Don didn't hesitate to make good use of the last room and when he was done, Leo did likewise.

As Leonardo came out of the half bath, Don gave him a critical look, asking, "You did remember to clean up afterwards, right?"

Leo bowed slightly, smiling, "Yes, Don-san, I'm a good ninja, I know better to stand close."

"You better, it's shorter than you think!"

"Hey, I resent that!"

"I would too, if I were you!"

Leo stood there and shook his head, declaring, "You know you miss the old Mike and Raph show when you start talking like them…and when did that start happening?"

"What?"

"When did we start bantering like Mikey and Raph used to?"

Don leaned back against the wall and folded his arms across his plastron, "I dunno," he looked away for a moment and sighed, a strange expression on his face, "Seems like yesterday, seems like forever, seems like life changed when Splinter was killed and then…" he looked back at Leo, "…well…then after we finished the _Job_, after we moved here, life kind of slowed down and we didn't have to be serious anymore, didn't have to fight for survival. The Foot, or what remained of them, disbanded or quit, and then we were able to just…I guess live and enjoy life, kick back."

Leo sighed, "'Course, then Mike's stroke happened and I think when he stopped joking around, when it was tough enough for him to just figuring out who he was, I think then…well, we tried to make up for the loss."

"And then Raph became too busy caring for him."

"Yeah, he sure mellowed, didn't he?"

Don nodded a silent agreement.

"You know," Leo smiled, "he always irritated me when he'd go off on some tangent rage thing but then when it mattered most, Raph was always there, protecting our backs. Or Mike with his run-on dialogue, going all hyper like he didn't have a brain cell in his head, but then he'd say something so off the wall, so profound, he'd have me in stitches." Leo swallowed and said thickly, "I miss that; I miss the way things used to be."

Don met his brother's gaze, both sets of eyes misting from the recollection, both brothers offering the other a wry smile. Finally, Don mused, "I think Mike was probably more genius than me."

Leo quirked a brow, "How so?"

"Because he knew our life sucked while we lived in New York and he tried to bring some sunshine into our miserable little world."

Just for a moment, they languished there in the hallway, unspoken words of understanding passing between them. Finally, they moved on to the last door in the lineup and one closest to the kitchen. It didn't take Donatello to tell Leo what it could be.

"Hey, look…another door!" Leonardo cheered.

"Wow, imagine that. We're in a house and you find a door. Guess that explains why we call you 'fearless leader," and then Don slapped his brother on the carapace.

"Oh, shut up."

"You're offering me too many opportunities not to," Don chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, whatever, "and then, with a flourish, Leo opened the door, "Ta da!" while waving an arm towards the cavity beyond, "a basement!"

When both brothers saw the staircase descend into the inky blackness of a windowless sub room, Leo looked over at Don and smiled, "So, want to go down?"

"No, not especially."

"How come, it's not like it's the sewers."

"Something about…" Don mused, rolling his eyes, putting finger to chin, "Finding oneself…trapped." He indicated his current position with firm point towards the floor, "Unless you know of an alternate way out, I'll stay up here."

"You sure?"

"Positive, bro. You go have your fun."

"Chicken."

"Look-out!" Don remarked, but when Leo turned around, one hand snapping up to the hilt of his sword, apparently expecting someone coming up behind him, Donatello laughed, "No, I meant I'll be look-out. Good god, Leo, you're too edgy for your age!"

"Shut up." Leo's face darkened, obviously flummoxed from his hasty reaction.

"I would, but you're too easy."

"Well, watch my back, then, and if you hear her coming up the drive, whistle once." and then Leo proceeded down the stairs and into the abyss below.

x x x x x x

Marie flipped the tunnel lights on and, once she collected herself, she ran as fast as she could towards her house, or to be precise her basement, and to be even more precise, her dojo. She really didn't know what she was going to do once she arrived, but she would definitely lock the room from the basement side, thereby keeping anyone on the other side of the door from getting in. It was a precaution on her part to keep her training room separate from the basement; a room she didn't want normal people, such as repairmen, to see. Or, as in this particular moment, mutant turtles.

Yet, if Marie were truly honest with herself, she knew that by now, her trespassers had already gone through her house and with the speed of their craft, more than likely, they had rifled through her closets and drawers and had already found her uniform. She could only be thankful that at the very least she hadn't kept any other evidence to her identity as an easy find. As it was, the few throwing stars she kept in her closet drawer were purchasable from any novelty weapons store, so to attribute them to anything related to her past would be a stretch at most. At least she kept her insignia bandanna and other artifacts from her old life tucked safely away in her dojo. Now, to get there before either of the two turtles discovered her secret room would be a trick indeed!

And if by chance they had indeed found her private room, well…Marie knew one collection there would force her to face her past and a lot sooner than she had planned on doing.

x x x x x x


	10. The Way of Secrets

_**Disclaimer - **Nope, still turtle-less. Sorry for the wait. This chapter was a bugger to write. And, the fact that my PC froze up during my proof-reading time - taking with it all my wonderful additions and changes, I had to start over with my revisions. I usually make a half-dozen or more changes to any chapter that I've blocked out before I upload it. So, yeah, I had a lot of work to redo. _

_Italicized font for thoughts and flashback scenes. Within the flashbacks, regular font denotes thoughts. Kind of goes without saying, but…anyway, enjoy! _

x x x x x x

**Chapter 10** - **The Way of Secrets **

The moment Marie charged into her dojo, the door to the room locked shut behind her, and the automated lighting system activated. It flooded the room with blinding light, compared to the near lightless interior of the tunnel she had just exited. The results revealed her weapons rack and a solitary display case standing against the east-side wall. She gave none of it any notice, though, and continued running towards the second door across the way and at the northwest corner from the tunnel, a door separating her training room from the basement. When she reached it, Marie came to a quick stop and, at the same time, slapped her palm against the electronic key pad embedded into the wall. It immediately recognized her handprint, quietly initiating the release of four deadbolts into the steel-re-enforced door. Now, no assault coming from the other side would open it.

Rather than go back through the tunnel and to relative safety, however, Marie stood there and waited, panting. While she caught her breath, the minutes ticked by, but the longer her door remained unchallenged, the more the woman began wondering if the turtles had even discovered the basement, yet. Then, she had another thought and Marie's eyes widened.

_Maybe they heard the squeak from that stupid hay bale and are now in the barn! _

Marie made a mental note to oil the contraption once things calmed down…_if_ things calmed down. She sighed and knew right away that whatever 'calm' she had had before today would be something of the past, now that her 'visitors' were intimately knowledgeable about her and her home and, more than likely, her secret.

Once more, the woman gave serious thought to moving.

Instead of grumbling to herself, though, she quickly pushed another button on the same keypad, activating a security breach sensor. Now, anyone lifting the phony block of hay would set off an alarm, which was nothing more than the dojo lights flickering off and on. At the same time, the automated opener embedded into the floor just outside the dojo disengaged, keeping anyone from inside the tunnel from breaching the security of her underground room. However, other than the basement, the door, now locked tight, barred her only escape route to the outside. Marie now found herself between that proverbial rock and a hard place, since, with two known turtles on property, she knew that the chances were good their curiosity would have one of them checking Sudan's shelter while the other focused on the secret room.

Nevertheless, she wanted to make sure, absolutely positively certain, that if either of them managed to discover her well-disguised door, her room would remain unmolested.

With her heart racing and her hands perspiring, Marie stood there, back to the wall. Standing to the door's right side, she listened and held her breath, and as she did, she found herself staring across the room to the closed tunnel. Suddenly, she closed her eyes and chuckled, rather amused with herself. Given what she knew about the street smarts of her adversary - especially one in particular - Marie wouldn't put it past them to discern how best to compromise it.

"Well, guess I'll find out soon enough just how good that system is."

As she tried to put her worries aside, Marie casually glanced over to the display case. The moment the dojo lights came on, the lights in the mahogany, glass-fronted case had activated as well. Now it glowed from within like a museum artifact.

Inside and adorning a black marble life-size mannequin were an armored head set, a pair of bladed shoulder protectors and a breastplate, with bladed gauntlets strapped to each 'arm'.

Marie scowled at the collection and the helmeted, eyeless head appeared to stare back from behind the protective glass, as if mocking her. She shot out a frustrated breath and narrowed her eyes even more. It wasn't that she kept the suit to reminisce about the 'good old days'. No, Marie kept her father's armor to remind her about her roots, where she had come from, and to reinforce the importance of never going back there, again. Contrary to how she once believed, how _he_ raised her to think, she now saw the bladed costume as a monstrosity, a reminder of a life wasted on the whims of a mad man and one who nearly drove her to the same fate.

And he would have, too, had it not been for the discovery that caused Marie to seek refuge from his influence.

Her mind reeled back to that moment, the moment she knew to be the beginning of the end to a life whose sole purpose was in serving _him_.

In reflex, her throat tightened. Marie tried refusing the emotion, damning it to hell, but her throat constricted nonetheless and she felt an overwhelming sense of repressed grief. Her training from years ago had forbid her to cry…at least back when _they_ had killed her father. Rage and the need to avenge his death replaced tears, no matter how deep her grief - and no matter how dark her room at night.

Now, three decades later, Marie allowed a single tear to escape, if only to rebel against _him_, and it trailed down her face, a solitary silvery line of insurrection.

As she stood there, waiting by the door, she breathed lightly, and again thought back to that first decade following her father's demise. During that time, Marie had committed herself in tipping the scales of justice…to avenge his death. And avenge she did, employing every means at her disposal, chasing her enemy throughout the endless maze of tunnels beneath New York City. She committed herself to making it impossible for them to find any refuge, too, at least not for long. Just as soon as they found a place of safety, she would quickly discover their new lair and the hunt would begin all over again.

Still, despite her persistence, they always managed to get away. Regardless of whom Marie hired to find her elusive quarry, she always failed in capturing them. In no time, it became status quo for one failure to follow another, and it didn't take long before she found herself on the brink of madness…and she would have plummeted to its depths, too, had she not discovered her father's secret chamber…

_She had spent a week running nearly nonstop in her hunt for the enemy. Yet, no matter where she looked, no matter what evidence given to her that said they were here or there, she came up empty. Frustration was hardly a word that described how she felt. Marie was livid. _

_Finally, needing to focus her mind, Marie took refuge from her worries by visiting the great hall where her father would often go to conduct business. Since his death, she only visited it when clan needs demanded its formality, but rarely would she go there for any other reason. Now, she felt drawn to it, seeking its solace, to gain a moment of peace, to find some way to focus her mind. _

_Before taking to the one lone chair, the very chair where her father would sit, Marie went about closing all the windows and doors, not the least bit interested in the city that mocked her. Instead, she wanted to believe she was far away and in a land more akin to her upbringing than this bustling, garish city that never slept. Marie needed sanctuary from such distractions. Where it crowned the pinnacle of her father's skyscraper, it offered an almost unlimited view of New York City, but it only reminded her of how much she had failed, of how many times her enemy proved itself more clever than her best spies and soldiers. _

_With the grand hall decorated in distinctive Japanese and encircled by the large, wrap-around deck, it announced to all who looked upon it as something unique, something special. Yes, her father had certainly carved quite an empire for himself, Marie knew that much. _

_Now, with the room's uncluttered and clean décor, it imbued order and calmed her tortured soul. Yet, before she took to his chair, Marie first offered respect for what it represented. She lowered herself to the ground, sitting on her knees, bowing low, with her forehead to the floor. _

_As she remained there, contrite and submissive before her father's memory, all of Marie's failures came unbidden to her mind, teasing her, with an image of her father's face scowling in disapproval. The woman growled under the weight of his ghostly condemnation and soon she found herself complaining about the ineptness of her soldiers, giving excuses to an audience that wasn't there. _

How could it be my fault when it was others who have failed?_ she grumped loudly. It boggled her mind with the uncanny way her adversaries continued to slip beyond her grasp, no matter how close she came to finding them, no matter who she hired to hunt them. She mumbled to herself about how unfair it was, something she never did, and it only caused her to feel more frustrated as a result. _

_With hands clenched and fisted atop her knees, Marie finally had to accept that her one, singular fault was in putting her trust in those who continued to disappoint her. Something needed to change and unless she implemented a stricter response to her minions' inadequacies, failure would continue to follow. She was certian her father would agree with her, too. _

_However, Marie had a sudden realization, like an epiphany. Even if she could destroy them, she knew that her grief would remain. No amount of killing would bring her father back. His chair would remain empty, just like it was now. Yes, she would still run his many businesses and lead his organization to greater accomplishments, but gone forever would be his influence. _

_Then, another thought occurred to her. Whether she succeeded in bringing honor back to the clan or not, Marie was still leader, holding a position accepted by all who served her. No one would challenge her, even though in her culture in Japan, women did not hold leadership roles. Marie knew that to have such a position as she did was a rarified gift. _

_She smiled, and her anger slowly cooled. As Marie relaxed her hands, she now had a clearer understanding about her role in the clan. She suddenly realized that she had a purpose bigger than avenging her father's death. Simply put, Marie had a business to run. _

_Yes, throughout the past decade, she had maintained her father's enterprises, but only to provide payroll to the clan and to those underlings she hired to find the turtles. Was it worth it, though? She certainly had enough under lords that managed such enterprises. _

Maybe I need to cut my losses, though, and dispense with hiring outside the family,_ she thought, _they have obviously been of little use to me.

_Yes, she had to agree with that fact. Most of the failures were because of others unrelated to the Foot clan. _

_Then, Marie stared hard at the ornate chair before her. She knew she would have to be the one to fill it, for no one else in the clan was even remotely qualified. Since her father's demise, she had sat upon it when entertaining visitors or conducting clan business, but it never felt right to her. She felt too small. She only took to it whenever she had to and, lately, Marie had to more often than not when interrogating those who had failed her. Unlike her father, though, she rarely decreed their death and it was in that moment when Marie wondered if that was the reason for her many failures. _

I am too **soft**!_ she declared, teeth clenched, _Well, things are going to change around here, _she vowed. _

_Resolutely, Marie quickly rose to a stand and gave a curt bow towards the chair. Then, as she marched up the steps of the dais and turned around, Marie hesitated slightly, holding her breath. When calm once again claimed her soul, she eased slowly into her seat. She smiled, an arrogance blanketing her face. The woman sat there for a while, her posture straight, her head tilted proudly. Staring out across the open room, Marie studied the shadows, mindful of spies, her spies, but spies nonetheless. _

_To gain better insight to her surroundings, she closed her eyes and fell into a light meditation, bringing her to that plane where she could sense intruders, but she found none in the room. _

_Marie was alone. _

_More relaxed, now, and confident that no one would disturb her, the incumbent leader of the Foot allowed her guard to drop, and it was then when she realized the absence of padding in the chair. _

_Rather than complain against its hardness, she scoffed, "Only the weak need padding." _

_That was what her father would say, anyway. It was still hard, though, and so she squirmed a bit, until she found a comfortable position. When she did, Marie finally relaxed again. Soon, her thoughts had her reassessing the past year, going over all the many lost opportunities in trying to apprehend her prey. She thought of other ways to snare them, mentally recalling what little she knew about them. Distracted in thought, Marie sat back against the chair rest and began drumming her fingers of her right hand along the top part of the armrest. As she considered each idea and each failure associated with it, she became more agitated. Her lip curled into a snarl and she drummed the armrest harder. At one point, she changed the tempo, not consciously, but more out of agitated boredom. She drummed harder still, from pinky to forefinger, and tapped the armrest once, then tapped it twice more as another failure and then a second came to mind…drumming, tapping twice, and then repeating the second cadence again as she rehashed her past mistakes. _

_Suddenly, the chair vibrated and gave a small backward lurch and at the same time, the curtained wall behind her parted in the middle. Marie heard the soft _whoosh _of pressurized air sing out and then move past her. Next, the chair began moving backwards at a relatively quick, smooth pace, as if riding on well-oiled rollers. She stiffened slightly in surprise, but then relaxed, realizing in the next instant that she had triggered a mechanism embedded into the armrest. _

_She smiled, _Father is still full of surprises, it seems.

_With eyes wide and expectant, Marie stared straight ahead, riding the chair as it slid silently, speedily, into what seemed to be a hidden but lightless room. The moment she passed through the once-drapery lined wall, now opened wide like a doorway, it close quickly in front of her. Then, the darkened room instantly blazed with light. _

_Facing the wall now separating her from the main hall on the other side, Marie looked around and found herself in a small, but well-appointed office. Recessed lights in the ceiling illuminated the room. She sat there, amused, looking around. She noticed to her left the outline of a door in the wall, probably an escape route, just for emergencies. She was about to get up to go and inspect it when the chair made a sudden, one-hundred eighty degree turn-around. When it stopped, she found herself parked in front of a desk. It was quite ornate and she was certain it was an antique, maybe French in design. She noted drawers along each side, the area directly in front of her recessed, allowing room for the chair. Yet, Marie was certain that her chair wouldn't fit, not with the armrests in the way. _

_Almost on cue, the pair suddenly dropped down and Marie instinctively pulled her elbows in. At the same time, the chair moved forward towards the desk and slipped Marie's lap underneath the work area. It was a perfect fit! _

_The woman smiled, again, thinking how clever her father had been, not only to create such a chair, but also such a room at his disposal. She wondered how he would extricate himself had he a need to use the emergency exit, but for now, she reveled in the fact that she had learned something new. She was certain that no one else in the clan knew about this hidden room. Marie certainly didn't know about it. In fact, she was quite certain that whomever her father had hired to build it, he had that carpenter killed after completing the job. After all, in her clan, it was the way of secrets. Leave no trail and leave no trace, which often meant disposing of those who served such secrets, if only to keep them that way. _

_Now, his secret was hers_.

_Committing to memory exactly how many times she had drummed her fingers and tapped the armrest, Marie tentatively reached over to one of the side drawers, preparing to open it. _

_Suddenly, just short of touching the wooden handle, she stopped, and wondered to herself, _What if Father had everything rigged to explode if the wrong 'touch' or fingerprint found its way on the pull.Would he install such devices if this room were so secret that not even I, his own daughter, knew about it?

_Marie contemplated that thought, but the more she did, the more she was certain her father would have been sure its existence would go undiscovered. Confidently, she took a deep breath and opened the drawer… _

And as Marie stood there in her dojo and thought back to that moment two decades earlier, even with the freedom she had gained since that time, she wished that she had never found the hidden room. What she discovered there rocked her world and in more ways than a bomb ever could.

x x x x x x

**TBC **


	11. A Sense of Familiar

**_Disclaimer – _**_Sorry for the delay in updating, gentle readers.__ I had – PC problems. Long story short, all of my writing programs and emails uninstalled when my husband cleaned the system of an over-abundance of 'cookies'. The myriad of cyberspace-confections had clogged my PC system, causing my computer to freeze up more frequently than run the way it should, and thereby forcing me to reboot all the time. It was – frustrating as shell! Anyway, it wasn't the cookie removal process that killed my MS Word, but the recovery program that did the deed! Add to that the fact we couldn't find the original product key to reinstall my old MS Office writing program and I was dead in the water. We ended up having to buy a new one – the Professional version! Thank goodness my daughter is a student. She bought it for us at her university's student store and saved a bundle on $. _

_Still, it's so hard learning how to use new programs. I hate change. 'sighs' But, at least I'm writing again! Whoopee. :0)_

_Anyway, a kind reviewer hinted that chapter 10 seemed 'overwhelming' with all the italics. Honestly, I don't know what to do about that, other than NOT use italics. However, I like distinguishing present from past that way (or thoughts!). So, I tried to trim 10 up a bit (although it wasn't much) and then attacked this chapter a little differently. Yes, there will be flashbacks in italics, but I've tried to write most of Marie's past in present day mode. Not sure if it's an improvement, but I have to have some way to share Marie's back-story and have it stand out from the rest. :0) _

_Anyone who has a better idea with how to do that, feel free to PM me. I meant it; I'm all for learning to write better and more precise.._

_Ah, to write fluidly and with sparse use of words – that would be my personal miracle and achievement!_

**Chapter 11 – A Sense of Familiar**

The instant Leonardo walked through the door leading to the stairs, light flooded the basement below. He smiled. Given the type of security measures that Don had already discovered on the property, Leo wasn't surprised with the automated lighting system. In fact, he made a mental note to have Don outfit their basement back at the farm with a similar convenience.

However, as he descended the stairs, Leo felt an unsettling disturbance come over him. Despite two decades of peaceful living, reflexes born from years of fighting told him that something wasn't right. Instinctively, he reached over his shoulder and grabbed one of his swords. As Leonardo unsheathed it, the soft '_shring'_ of steel whispering readiness, the moment he walked off the last step, the turtle in blue turned his back to the wall behind him. Now facing the interior of the basement, Leo scanned the area suspiciously.

Above him, Don stood in the opened doorway, watching his brother. The moment he saw Leonardo's posture switch from relaxed to apprehensive – and especially when he unsheathed one sword, the genius turtle's jovial mood changed immediately. In response, Donatello reached for his own weapon, and called out, mindful to keep his voice low, "Hey, Leo, what's going on?"

His brother replied with a sharp look of annoyance and quickly placed one forefinger to his beak, signaling for quiet. Don understood and communicated that with a single nod, yet a disturbing thought suddenly came to mind.

_Maybe the woman isn't living alone after all_.

With staff in hand, Donatello stepped through the door and towards the stairs, ready to join his brother. He paused, however, when Leonardo gestured for him to stop. Reluctantly, Don complied, still not liking what he was sensing from Leo. Yet, his brother had taken only one sword from his back, so that meant whatever had worried him wasn't too dangerous, not yet anyway. Waiting for his brother's next set of orders, Don stood at the top of the stairs, keeping his bo in position, just in case.

x x x x x x x

In a another room, not far away, Marie stood there in her dojo, back to the common wall linking her room with the basement, thinking back through the years and to that moment when she opened the desk drawer in her father's secret chamber. She remembered well debating the wisdom of doing so and deciding that her father would not install explosive devices in his private abode. She recalled how confident she felt when opening it, too.

"So young…so foolish," she murmured, glaring at the steel-wrapped mannequin across from her, "…_and_ lucky!"

Nevertheless, what she had first found in that drawer had delighted her. There were hundreds of files, all filled with paperwork, all in alphabetical order. Methodically working her way through the collection, Marie had quickly discovered that her father had a record on everyone who ever worked for him or had even the simplest affiliation with the Foot. Some names she recognized, with half of those names deceased, and some she didn't recognize at all. The sordid details of espionage and assassinations, the damning blackmail, the photos of important men in compromising positions; Marie's father certainly knew what it took to control his underlings.

Then, the woman found something that had truly shocked her and would forever change her opinion about the Foot and her place in the clan…

_When Marie found a file with her name on it, she hesitated._ What if Father had a way of spying on me that even I could not detect? _she worried_.

_With that thought in mind, another concern filled her heart, one of apprehension. It nearly stopped her heart. _What if he found out about my meetings with Leonardo?

_Marie's brief friendship with her clan's greatest enemy had surprised her at the time; it was the last thing she had expected would happen. Nevertheless, Leonardo's earnest concern for her well-being and the gentle smile he would give her whenever they would meet outside the battle zone filled a void in Marie's heart that her father's 'love' was incapable of doing. Although she couldn't honestly say that she loved the mutant, there was a kinship, a bond formed because of Leonardo's honorable nature. He had shown her a different side to her father's assessment of the mutant terrapin._

Standing in her underground dojo, her face devoid of emotion, Marie thought back to those times, and sighed deeply. Although her relationship with Leonardo had never gone beyond the few conversations they had or the single longing gaze she once stole of him (hinting of feelings so deep that it shocked her), one thing was certain. Leonardo's single, solitary act of permanently removed her father from her life had effectively ruined what opportunity she might have had to find out just how far their friendship could have gone. She had more than made up for her transgressions, too; at least after twenty years of reflection, she hoped so.

Once more, feelings stirred within her, a mixture of regret and anger, conflicting and churning, like opposing magnetic poles competing for dominance, and she felt her throat constrict.

x x x x x x x x

Satisfied with Don's cooperation, Leo resumed his inspection of the room. He held his position for a moment, but when no attack came, he relaxed just a little, keeping his back to the wall. He felt Don relax, too, but something still felt 'off' to him.

_Quite puzzling,_ Leo thought to himself, _I would have bet my shell there was someone else down here with me. _

For the moment, Leonardo ignored his concerns and took in his general vicinity. To his left and aligned with the same wall as the stairs, the turtle in blue noticed a washer and dryer, and beyond that, a double set of tall, pantry-like cabinets. In addition, there were smaller cabinets adhered to the wall above the two appliances.

_Probably filled with cleaning supplies_, he thought, but from where he stood, Leo couldn't tell.

Stepping away from the stairs to get a better view, Leo smiled in confirmation, and quickly inventoried laundry detergent, softener, and insect sprays, all the typical stuff that most laundry rooms – or basements – had. He noted a few gallon-sized cans of paint on the shelves, as well, with uneven drips of neutral colors striping their sides. He recognized some of the colors from what he had seen upstairs in the various rooms and he smiled. The bit the normalcy the basement offered, between the appliances, the sprays, and the paint, reminded him of his own home, yet…the '_something'_ that he had felt a moment earlier definitely wasn't normal. He sharpened his focus more, now, certain that he wasn't alone.

x x x x x x x x

Emotions so strong Marie felt that any moment she would drown under their weight, the woman determinedly denied them – and succeeded. With the door leading to the basement to her left, she stared across the room towards her father's armor. It seemed to stare back accusingly and Marie truly wondered if she had indeed atoned for her sins. Although nothing in her father's personal account of her life suggested he knew about her secret meetings with Leonardo, the fact that she consorted with the enemy stamped her guilty of treason, regardless of how long it had been or how loyal she was to her father and the Foot clan. Of course, eventually she had faked her death to leave the Foot. It was a coward's way out, though, a dishonorable exit, and Marie knew that only the business end of a sword could redeem her. She sighed and wondered that if she had lost courage then, would she be able to commit seppuku now if honor demanded it?

Marie shook her head, not knowing where all of this would eventually lead her. She used to be so – cutthroat, so absolute where it concerned honor, so aware of her place in the world. However, back then, she lived by another understanding of honor and since its demise, she had learned differently.

Dismissing her growing doubt and not at all eager to explore it further, Marie furthered her recollection of her past that eventually started her downward spiral towards oblivion…

_According to her personal biography, written by Saki himself, he had found her living in squalor, just as he had told her long ago. And, according to what he wrote, she was a very angry and very frightened five-year old. _

This hadn't been news. Marie remembered well the day Saki found her. Sitting inside a run-down shack, starving, cold...and angry with the world. She had glared at the man, challenging him to hurt her, wishing for death, and scared, very, very scared. No, that memory would always be with her and though what she eventually learned of her father had been distasteful and caused her to leave tradition behind, he had given her a life rich in earthly provisions.

What was news, however, was his admittance about feeling some sense of compassion for her. Even then, he followed his admittance with dismissing it as a momentary weakness. Simply put, he wrote that he needed an heir. It didn't matter what gender, the fact was that he needed one - wanted one. He had admitted that marrying wasn't for him. Consequently, when he found Marie in the poorest part of the city, huddling fearfully in a run-down shanty shack, abandoned, he thanked the gods for his good fortune.

Next to his confession, there had been a footnote and it puzzled Marie at the time. He had written in the margin next to it, "_If not for my informant's research into her lineage…I might still be looking for an heir!_"

Now, she knew what he meant by 'informant', but two decades earlier, it had been a mystery.

Still, it couldn't compare to the next part of his journal regarding how he found her. That part nearly made her sick. Twenty years later, it still affected her. She had been so shocked at the time, that she could hardly breathe. Even now, in remembrance, Marie found her breath thick with emotion.

_As she read his personal account of her early years, it seemed that Saki hadn't exactly 'found' her as he once told her. Her parents hadn't exactly died, either, which meant that she wasn't as orphaned as he once led her to believe. It appeared that - _and this was what would rock her world _- Oruku Saki had purchased her! He gloated in writing how he had threatened her parents with death and how they cowered before him. They were poorer than poor, so they didn't have much in the way to deny him. _

She didn't remember any of that, only that her parents disappeared one day and she wandered the streets for days, always returning to what she had called home. The man that came to her, offering her food and warmth, and eventually his home and his name, rescued her. That was what he told her. For years and until that night she discovered his secret room that was what she believed, too.

Initially, right after reading his admittance, Marie had felt an anger so hot, that it made her tremble. How could anyone coerce a parent into selling their child? Then again, Marie knew that Saki could be quite convincing, she understood that. Moreover, her country's history told of how ninja would steal or barter for children and raise them as their own, training them to be sacrificial soldiers for the clan. Yes, Marie believed for years that she was one of the lucky ones, the ones rescued from neglect due to abandonment. Saki had indeed provided for her, giving her things her parents probably never could, affording her an inheritance of money that for years she had squirreled away into a private, obscure account long before she decided to leave the Foot. Just the same, to find out that her adoptive father had purchased her like some slab of meat? It seemed barbaric to the woman, despite her understanding of such practices, and still seemed that way even now, despite the fact that the results had given her the means to seek a new life in the backcountry of Massachusetts.

As Marie remembered that night and all that she had learned about her beginnings from her father's secret files, her anger then had quickly replaced her previous self-doubts. Because, as she had read further, he wrote that in the weeks following his adopting Marie, he had her parents killed!

_"Humph…and why should I have been surprised,"_ she lamented, still affected by the discovery twenty years earlier. She knew that, as was always the case in the Foot clan, leave no trail, leave no trace, and dispose of those who served such secrets.

And, it seemed that Marie's parents indeed had a secret.

For a moment, the woman felt another tear escape and slide quickly down her face, but she wiped it way and swallowed hard. Tears would not bring back her parents. Crying would not restore her childhood. Weeping would only further dishonor her.

_Honor…amazing how the years have distorted, or maybe they've corrected, Father's version of the word!_ She wanted to laugh at the thought, but instead uttered a single, short sob.

x x x x x x x x

As Leonardo further assessed the basement, he saw a row of boxes along the north wall running southeast and horizontal from the storage pantry. They were somewhat worn, probably packing boxes left over from when the woman had first moved in, he reasoned. He didn't see any discernable markings, though, nor did he see enough room behind them for someone or _something_ to hide, other than spiders, and so Leo relaxed. He chuckled, though, thinking about Raphael, knowing how much his brother hated the arachnids.

Nevertheless, he looked around and turned to face the opposite side from the stairs. There, he noticed a row of freestanding, backless shelves, positioned side by side like soldiers, and each one six-foot tall. They ran from the back wall where the boxes were and towards the wall behind the stairs. There seemed to be seven of the bookcase-style cabinets, all opened in the back, with the combined number making up a single row, effectively dividing the room.

However, the shelves were lightly filled with the woman's personal belongings, some in boxes, some bold and obvious with what they were. The sparsely populated areas, though, allowed Leo to see behind them to another line of identical storage cabinets, with a space in-between for walking. Not all the shelves seemed filled on them, either, which enabled Leo to see yet another row behind that one. The shelves at the very back appeared less open than the first two, with most filled with a mishmash of items, thereby effectively obscuring the wall behind it.

Regardless, all three rows ran almost uninterrupted from the northeast side of the basement towards the southernmost wall. Four feet shy of connecting the two opposing walls, the rows ended, creating an entry to allow access to the other rows of shelves behind the first. And, as Leo noted that fact, his brow crinkled with confusion.

_There's just something not right about this place._ _This room doesn't seem right, it seems – too small, compared to the size of the house upstairs. _

Leo suddenly looked up at his brother, still standing at the opened doorway, and whispered, "How big do you think the basement is, Don?"

Unable to see all of the room below from where he stood, Donatello shrugged and replied with equal care, "As big as the first floor, I assumed, considering how hollow the floors sounded."

"Yeah, that's what I thought, too, but…" Leo pointed towards the basement's ceiling, "It's only as big as the living room upstairs."

"Can't be, it has to be bigger than that, I mean, I didn't sense any slab foundation at all when we explored the first level."

"Right! My thoughts exactly, which means…"

"Which means, there must be another room down there!"

Leo shook his head, "No, the basement seems to end at the stairs leading to the second story in the living room."

Don's brow pinched together in confusion, "Really? But…" and then his eyes widened and he whispered excitedly, "Maybe there's a secret room with another way in!"

"Yeah, or one with a hidden door…"

"Like our lair in New York?"

"Exactly, only…different, maybe part of something unsuspecting." _Like storage cabinets,_ Leo thought to himself.

"Be careful, Leo! Could be a trap!"

"Yeah, right. But, why would a woman like her create a trap?" his brother countered, almost laughing.

"Why would a woman like her have such a sophisticated perimeter security system?" Don countered with a quirked brow.

Leo stared up at Don and then back at the point of interest, nodding in reluctant agreement, "Yeah, why indeed."

Confident that whatever had bothered him wasn't in his immediate vicinity, the mutant turtle stepped further into the basement. He gave a careful glance at the ceiling above but found only the sub flooring of the living room from the first floor. There wasn't enough room between the support beams there for adequate hiding opportunities, but he still didn't relax, keeping his sword up, just in case.

He turned his attention to the series of storage shelves, again, waiting, studying the area. Satisfied that they posed no immediate threat, he went over and inspected the area behind the stairs. Where they weren't the solid backed variety, their openness prevented any kind of hiding place. When all he saw were a bicycle and more boxes, Leo relaxed a little more. However, something about the boxes grabbed his attention. There seemed to be strange writing on their sides and Leo recognize it right away.

_Japanese Kanji? What in the world…? _

From what he could read, it said the boxes had shipped directly from Tokyo, Japan, sent to a 'Mrs. Smith' –stamped in English - and by some auction house called The Black Dragon Antiques. His eye-ridges rose in sudden surprise and then he smiled, murmuring quietly, _"Certainly explains her Samurai weapons. Must be a collector of Japanese artifacts. Hmm…interesting."_

Suddenly, Leo felt another disconcerting and stronger emotion and so he closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. After slowly expelling it, he focused on the feeling and concentrated, and then his eyes popped open. He snapped his head around to the left and glared towards the wall against where the third storage shelf rested. There, somewhere beyond the wall behind the last set of cabinets, someone was…crying. He couldn't hear it but he could most certainly sense it.

After making sure that the area behind the stairs was clear of any unseen threat and resisting the urge to inspect the intriguing boxes, Leo made his way around far end of the first line of freestanding shelves and found that the light barely registered there. Shadows now greeted him and every fiber of his being set itself on edge. What he sensed coming from the last row, or more precisely beyond the last row, seemed all too familiar to him. It was a feeling he hadn't sensed in a long time, and one that Leonardo was certain should not exist!

Consequently, Leonardo tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword and wondered if the next few minutes would soon demand its twin.

**_TBC_**


	12. Turning Point

_**DISCLAIMER **_– _Yeah, I finished it! Been working on this one for a loooong time. I'm not entirely happy with it, but it does close in on the final showdown – which might be in the next chapter. Not sure how much I'll share about Marie's life after this one, though. Might save some of it for later, or not at all. Anyway, as before, I don't own the TMNT's or any of their constituents. I only own – well – I own what I own and nothing more. When all of this is said and done, I'll tell ya what exactly is mine. _

_Enjoy!_

x x x x x x x

**Chapter 12 – Turning Point**

Memories of faces blurred from years of neglect haunted Marie's mind, evoking feelings that she had long ago denied. Once again, she found herself surprised by her burgeoning emotions. With her back hard against the wall and the door to her left, the woman resisted the threatening deluge, taking deep, comforting breaths before expelling them. She did this several more times before she finally regained a measure of self-control.

Still… the temptation was strong and Marie knew she had to fight it…or lose focus on her task.

_I need to stay in control, _she berated herself, _I canNOT break down…not now! _

Nevertheless, the memory of her parents (as vague as it was) reminded her about the aftermath of her discovery that fateful night. At the time, it was a pivotal moment when her love for her adoptive father – and her life - had changed.

Yet, discovering her true origins would only be the beginning of her malcontent. In fact, what occurred later that same evening put into motion an act that should have demanded her death, had anyone in the clan found out about it…

_After returning the paperwork on her life to the drawer, Marie found that by repeating the same series of taps on the armrest as what began her discovery returned her to the main hall. From there, she took the central elevator down two levels where her personal quarters were located. She needed a moment to think, to consider her options. By the time she had reached her room, she decided on a long walk through the streets of New York City._

_She quickly changed out of her uniform and into something more casual and non-descript. Shrugging into a plain, brown hooded coat (one she used on such occasions when she wanted to be invisible to her minions) Marie tucked a small dagger for protection into her right pocket. She then walked over to the wall next to her bed and gently pressed against a strip of wood, one of many strips of molding that in her room that decorated her walls. Yet, this molding was different, its purpose activating a switch for a cleverly hidden door. _

_The moment she pressed against it, a soft 'whoosh' sounded and the 'wall' shifted forward to slid to the side, revealing a single-person elevator. When Marie entered the compartment, her added weight triggered the closing mechanism, and the 'door' resumed its wall-like persona in her bedroom once again. _

_Her descent was quick, the lift's design purposeful in allowing for a speedy escape, if the need arose, and – right now – Marie wanted to escape, to get as far away from Foot headquarter as she could, so she could analyze her situation without distraction. Her exit from the building was just as secretive as her bedroom elevator, too, and before long Marie found herself walking away unchallenged from her home. _

_For the first couple of hours, the hooded form wandered the city, not caring where she walked, just so long as her path took her far from Foot headquarters. Not many people were out at this late hour so Marie prowled the boulevards and avenues, unencumbered by crowds. When she found herself in the shopping district, the number of people increased slightly, so she pretended to window-shop, in order to keep from catching anyone's attention. While she did, she mulled over her predicament, as she tried to justify her father's actions._

Okay, so he killed to get an heir, _she reasoned silently_, It wouldn't be the first time a ninja Lord has done something like that

_Nevertheless, despite the fact that Saki had tried to train it out of her, Marie couldn't stop thinking about her parents. What little she could remember, she couldn't forget how kind and compassionate they were. In the farthest reaches of her memory, she knew that they had loved her and in a way that differed from her adoptive father's love. Maybe it explained why she had always wrestled with the cold calculations of the ninja life, why she was so attracted to Leonardo's kindness. Of course, after Leonardo killed her father, her lust for revenge completed his training and she had pushed her memories aside. From then on, she embraced fully Saki's plan for her and with a level of intensity worthy of being the Shredder's heir._

_And had it not been for his dossier on how he had acquired her, Marie would have continued with that plan, too._

_As she walked, pondering her life, Marie moved from storefront to storefront. The more she thought about her father's account, she realized that no matter how she tried to defend his actions, she felt as betrayed as anyone would when discovering their adoption involved the murder of their natural parents._

_Finally, she had to admit to herself, _Reasoning can never justify something like that_, and then she stopped and wondered what her life would have been like had she not ended up as Oruku Saki's daughter. Would she be married now and have children? _Most likely, as that is the way of my people, _she sighed._

_At thirty years of age, Marie was well beyond her culture's childbearing years and so had long ago dismissed the notion of having a family. _

Given my lifestyle, I would have made a poor parent, anyway, _she murmured ruefully._

_That was when Marie noticed she had stopped in front of a real estate agency. She stood there, staring through its storefront window, focusing on nothing in particular, lost in thought. Suddenly her eyes noticed the resale advertisement taped inside the window. Oversized to grab the attention of those passing by, Marie curiously studied the flyer. Slowly, a scowl grew along her mouth and she sniffed with an air of disgust. Yet, the more she looked at it, the more the woman began feeling the slightest bit of intrigue._

_The ad showed a yellow, two-story farmhouse, its address listed as residing in upstate New York. Surrounding the handsome structure were acres of manicured lawns, all fenced with pristine white post and rails. It gave a storybook feel to the picture. Inside the various enclosures horses grazed, with trees dotting the verdant landscape. Behind the farm, wooded mountains - festooned with autumn's radiant colors, loomed majestically. It all made for a beautiful, picturesque scene._

_Marie next read the particulars on the property and smiled, knowing she could easily afford to buy it. Suddenly, a secret part of her yearned for a place just like it, but then she frowned. What would she do with a hundred-acre parcel of developed land? She led a corporate family of ninja thieves, for pity's sake. _

Maybe it could be my summer home, _she wondered idly and then Marie harrumphed at the absurdity. Nevertheless, the idea lingered with her and then another thought came to mind…_What…if I was not part of the Foot? What if…

_Suddenly, warning chills coursed down Marie's spine like frozen fingers of ice. _

_Knowing how adept her people were with monitoring their own, she resisted the urge to look around for spies. Instead, Marie pushed her hands deeper into her coat pockets and abruptly turned away from the store. Quickly resuming her march towards uptown, the woman berated herself for her momentary weakness. She didn't need for some soldier on patrol to catch her looking at real estate, especially real estate that contradicted her ninjitsu lifestyle. Her minions were always on the prowl among the clan for subtle indicators like that. If left unattended, such desires could move a soldier – or even an Elite – to commit acts of betrayal, so her spies were always on guard. Where the past decade had taken its toll on her confidence to lead, with all of her failed attempts at squashing her enemies, she had to be careful how she acted when not in the presence of her clan. And although she had hid well her insecurities, Marie knew that one misstep like what she just committed could well mean waking up in the middle of the night - with a knife at her throat. _

_Usurping the incumbent leader of ninja clans was nothing out of the ordinary, especially when that leader proved weak. Another lesson from her father._

_Still, her discovery hours earlier had Marie wondering about what to do about her life. Part of her tried to explain the sordid details of her childhood as unimportant. She had little to covet materially or monetarily. Marie knew her lifestyle gave her many opportunities, despite her Spartan preferences, so she reminded herself that her parents' sacrifice had benefited her. She tried to justify her brief longing for another way of life as a momentary weakness, maybe due to boredom, so she quickly dismissed it as such. _

Maybe a trip to Japan for a week or two is really what I need. _She snorted, mildly amused with herself, and watched as the vapor trail of her breath evaporated in the chilled air. _Yes, that is probably it; I need a…change of scenery.

_Just the same, the image from the real estate poster persisted and, so, the longing to lead a more peaceful life from the one she had led for nearly thirty years didn't go away so easily. Because of the stark contrast between the picturesque farm and her role as leader of a corrupted ninja clan, it continued to tempt her. _

_By the time Marie had walked another two blocks, a secret desire began growing in her heart, its tenacious tendrils of temptation creeping into her subconscious._

x x x x x x x

He paused as he passed each row, critically inspecting their depth, looking for any telltale sign of a hidden door, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

_No, there's more to this basement than what I'm seeing, I'm absolutely certain._

He did notice the diminishing light, however and that intrigued him. Suddenly, he realized how scantily filled the storage shelves were and it was then when Leonardo wondered why the woman would have so many when so little occupied them. It was all quite puzzling.

When the turtle finally reached the third and last row of cabinets, he stopped and stared intently into the darkened aisle. He kept his back to the southern wall as he peered northwards into the more shadowed area. Despite his ability to see well in the dark, he looked for a light switch, certain there would be one, considering how poorly lit this last and final row was. When he couldn't find one, his brow pinched in confusion.

_Why would she not have a way to light up this area? Unless… _And then he suddenly smiled in understanding, _This is deliberate_. _This area is too dark for someone who took great pains to automate the rest of the basement with light_

Now, more convinced than before about a hidden room (at least a door leading to it), Leonardo stood there and studied the area in front of him. As he did, the feeling of someone standing nearby grew stronger.

_Yes, there is definitely someone here,_ he thought, more than confident now that somewhere along this last line of shelves, he would find a door, and one leading to that other room

x x x x x x x

_For the first time during her walk, Marie noticed the number of people on the streets had increased. So deep in thought, she hadn't realized that she had traveled all the way to the theater district and with the late shows ending soon, the streets would fill with even more people. Not wanting to bother with such and with her knowledge of the lesser used byways in that area, she quickly ducked into a side street separating the boulevard of skyscrapers. A block away waited a narrow alley and one she knew would lead her past the more populated places. _

_When she reached her destination, Marie confidently made her way in. Behind her, the sounds and garish lights from the city gradually diminished, the concrete edifices acting as buffers. _

_The momentary lull only reminded Marie about the real estate ad and she wondered again what true peace might sound like. _

x x x x x x x

With sword in hand and keeping his senses alert, Leo walked into the last row. As he moved along, he expectantly studied each shelf. He looked for unusual spaces between each cabinet, something out of the ordinary compared to the other rows that might suggest a disguised door, but found nothing different about them. He checked for errant flows of air, too, no matter how subtle, which would indicate a hollowed out space (or room) behind the wall backing the storage cabinets. Considering the old lair in New York and how impossible it was for the uninitiated to know where the front door was, Leo in contrast was well versed with such secrets and how to hide them.

After walking the entire length of storage cabinets, though, and finding nothing out of the ordinary, he stopped and stared at the shelves, confused.

_I know there's someone here and there has to be more to this basement, there HAS to be a door! But…where_?

Suddenly, Leonardo noticed the cluttered state of one particular cabinet. The other shelves on both sides didn't seem as filled. Although he had been looking for something unusual, the normalcy of the area finally piqued his curiosity.

_Why would she place so much here, _he asked himself_, while leaving the rest so… _and then, his eyes widened with understanding

Smiling wide, Leo knew he had found the door, he was certain of it, and the more he focused, he could tell that it was from this point where the unsettled discord emanated. It was stronger, almost as if someone was standing right on the other side of the cabinet-fronted wall. Confident of his findings, Leonardo walked over to the unit and studied its construction with an experienced eye.

x x x x x x x

_The alley wasn't a very long alley, maybe two blocks in length, if that. With the skyscrapers blocking not only the bustling sound of the city, but also the garish lights, it effectively created dark and foreboding shadows. Marie paid them no mind, though. After all, shadows were the way of ninja. _

_However, at about the halfway point, she heard a noise. It seemed to come from just ahead of her. She stopped, mildly curious, and stared towards the point of origin. The sound seemed to come from another alley intersecting with hers, only fifty yards away. Carefully, Marie crept forward, her steps light and quiet, her attention keen. _

_Just as she came to where her alley crossed the one in question, however, before she could think about turning back, several large figures suddenly emerged from the darker recesses of the buildings. They quickly surrounded her and it was then when she noticed the chains in their hands and the leather jackets they wore. Marie knew they were members of the Purple Dragons. There were at least ten of her hirelings, too, but instead of announcing herself, Marie pulled the hood forward even more to conceal her identity. _

_Smiling, she fingered the dagger in her pocket and thought to herself, _This should be quite interesting

_Marie chuckled to herself, imagining the look of horror on their faces once she defeated them and revealed who she was. Then, again, maybe she would simply defeat them and run away, calling for them in the morning. Then, with her elite in attendance, she would recount all of the Dragons' blunders and with such detail, that they would have to wonder how she could keep such close tabs on their whereabouts. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more Marie liked her second idea._

_However, just before her would-be assailants could begin their attack and before she could prepare herself, somewhere up above and hidden among the shadowed fire escapes, came a familiar voice. Marie startled, surprised, for the Brooklyn accent easily identified its owner._

"_Ya know, one would'a think youse guys would have bettah things t'do than t'pick on defenseless people."_

Years hadn't tempered the irony of that night so long ago and Marie allowed a small laugh as she stood in her dojo, still amused with remembering the event. She knew, of course, that the outcome wouldn't have been so funny had any of _them_ figured out who she really was. Even with her dagger and as skilled as she was, she would have been sorely underprepared to go against four, well-trained, ninjas - mutant or otherwise. And the speed at which they dispatched her would-be attackers still, to this day, impressed her…

_Before she could think how best to react, the moment the voice sounded its challenge, a body dropped into the alley. It was another of the Purple Dragons, one who had acted as lookout, but had obviously failed at his task. Marie would most certainly bring this matter up at the next meeting – that is, if she survived the night._

_As the other Dragon's stared incredulously at their prone, unconscious member, three more figures dropped into the shadowy byway. Unlike the first, however, they landed on their feet, weapons drawn. Their odd, rounded shapes stood out in contrast to the more lean, humanoid gang and their sudden entrance effectively interrupted the Dragons' little party. In response, the thugs jumped back in surprised, but only for a second. They quickly employed their own weapons and then…all hell broke loose. _

_Marie watched in calm attentiveness as Purple Dragons went flying in every direction. One hit the brick façade of the building next to her and lining the alley with bone-crushing velocity, while another found himself flung into the dumpster just ahead of Marie to her right. The rest collapsed where they stood, some in pairs, and some individually. Nevertheless, they didn't stand a chance, not with the speed and efficiency of Marie's 'rescuers'. Consequently, the sound of chains against metal and wood echoed only briefly. _

_Never before had she witnessed her enemy from a rescued point of view. For the first time, she saw just how effect they could fight. Yes, she knew how well trained they were; she had gone up against Leonardo many times to know this. But, to just stand there and watch without the need to come to arms was different. And, in that moment of clarity, she understood why they had been so hard to beat. Yet, it was her next thought that was the most ironic. In the many failed attempts to find them, this evening the mutants had found her instead, only they were oblivious to that fact. Now, they fought to protect someone whom they perceived to be defenseless and Marie had all she could do to keep from laughing aloud at the absurdity. _

_Nevertheless and far too quickly, the battle ended. Amazingly, she found that she had been perfectly safe from the melee. Not one altercation had forced her to move from her spot, the fight had been that clean and efficient. Once again, the sounds of New York City filtered into the alley. _

_Despite the shadows, Marie could see the bodies of her constituents lying sprawled along the pavement, inert and impotent to the fight. Some groaned in unconscious misery and she huffed indignantly to think these fools did her bidding. Their ineffective fighting skills had her questioning the wisdom of ever doing business with the Purple Dragons again. _

_Before Marie had a chance to appreciate her interesting circumstance, one of her 'rescuers' approached her. By this time, her eyes had adjusted in the near dark and so she easily recognized him as Leonardo, his double ninjaken boldly declaring his identity. She smiled to herself, wondering if he could sense who _she _was, yet Marie kept her head tucked deep within her hood, not wanting to reveal herself too soon and certainly not wanting to fight. Yes, she had a score to settle and given her present opportunity, she could have caught her enemy off guard and inflict enough damage in that instant to probably kill him. With the kind of loss the Hamato clan had caused her, she felt Leo owed her that much. Yet, it didn't take an epiphany to convince the woman that now was not the time for revenge._

_Leonardo stopped several yards from Marie and re-sheathed his swords. He bowed slightly in her direction, never taking his eyes off the hooded form, and said to her, "I highly suggest you leave this alley and as soon as possible," and then gestured to the prone forms littering the concrete ground, "They won't be unconscious for long and they'll be mad when they come around. Now, go, run, and don't stop to look behind you." He waited for her response but then someone behind him added to the warning, his voice sharp, yet compassionate, "And stay out of th' alleys, girlie; they're not safe fer the unsuspectin'!" _

_Leo gave a half turn of his head to address the voice, "That's enough, Raph, she's already scared, you don't have to make it worse." And then he turned back to Marie and smiled magnanimously, "We know these hoodlums well and they take great pleasure in harassing unsuspecting people. They have no honor, at least not the right kind. But, my brother is correct; next time, find a more populated _**shortcut**_." Then, he turned, his blue bandanna tails flying behind him as he ran away. He quickly joined the other three and the four quickly melted into the intersecting alley and disappeared, well hidden among the shadows. When Marie heard the faint sound of metal scraping against concrete, she knew they had slipped into the sewers, probably heading back home – wherever home was for the time being. _

_Still, something about what he said concerning the shortcut alarmed Marie. _

Had they been following me? If so, for how long?

_Marie stood there, wondering, worrying about it, but realized that had they stalked her from the moment she left Foot headquarters, she would have had to employ her weapon this evening. However, that wasn't the case, they hadn't challenged her, they only chastised her choice of where to walk. Nonetheless, her conflicting emotions about Leo's kindness had confused her. She had been so close to him, that one expertly timed lunge would have had her knife racking along his throat. Yet, there had been a time when her fingers would have gently caressed that delicate part under his chin, too. _

But that was too long ago, _she mused wryly. _And too much has happened since then for such foolishness.

_Suddenly, her thoughts returned to the present as a man stirred from the pile of discarded Dragons. _

_Marie considered lingering around, to reveal herself, to chastise their failure. Only, she would have to then explain why she was there and at the same time as the turtles. Being in the alley right now would only question her loyalty and Marie could ill afford such dissention, not tonight. Consequently, she did as her 'savior' instructed, Marie left the alley straightaway and headed back to Foot headquarters, and by the time she returned to her room, she had formulated a plan how best to leave the Foot._

Now, two decades later, the woman thought back to that event and sighed. Although that had been the last time she had ever seen Leonardo, much had happened since then. His renewed vows of vengeance against the Foot had destroyed the empire, along with rumors of her presumed death occurring before the fall. Of course, once she had herself beyond anyone's prying eyes, she had made enough changes to herself to encourage that belief, the least of which was her name. Marie wondered, then, that if Leonardo or Donatello succeeded in finding her here, would they even recognize her, would they know her as their old enemy…Karai?

However, a noise behind her told Marie that she would soon know. She could sense that someone stood close to her position on the other side, someone who had finally found the door leading to her dojo.

x x x x x x x

_TBC_


	13. Honorable Integrity

_**DISCLAIMER – **__Yes, the muses are working, again. Now, if I can only convince them that they need to multi-task. I believe I have other projects needing their attention. Alas, though, they are a fickle lot these muses. One never knows what they will inspire me to write. Fortunately, I'm still writing, so I guess I shouldn't be too picky where they work. _

_Now, I can say what I own and what I don't. I own the name Marie Smith, but not the person borrowing it; I own Sudan the horse, the property in Massachusetts (but not the state), and those pretty, blue butterflies from several chapters back. :0) Mirage (and whoever else falls under that title) gets the rest._

x x x x x x x

**Chapter 13 – Honorable Integrity**

At first, Leo didn't see anything unusual about the cabinet. He did sense the unsettled feeling intensify, though. Then, when he felt the faintest breath of air whisper across his toes from underneath the base of the storage unit, he smiled. That alone told him that on the other side of the cabinet and wall he would find the room, just as he suspected. Still, his expression narrowed in puzzlement.

_Why would she need to have it so well hidden like this? What is she trying to hide?_

Throughout the months after she nearly discovered him in the woods, Leonardo had kept vigilant with the woman's schedule. Although he had been quite startled with her presence in the forest, he recognized her as the one driving the H3 that Donnie almost crashed into the week before. So when Leo saw her in the woods and only a short ways from the farm, he became suspicious. Once he learned where she lived, he made daily visits to her property. He stayed well within the forest that edged her land, too, keeping to the deeply shadowed areas. Eventually, Leonardo became familiar enough with her schedule and her social life to know that she lived alone and didn't consort with anyone other than with her horse. As far as he was concerned, she was a loner.

Still, he had to wonder why she would have a hidden room in the first place. Considering what he was sensing, he shuddered at the thought about what reasons would explain such a living arrangement. It was then, when the horror movies that Mike liked to watch crept into Leonardo's imagination. Of course, real life had its own brand of horror for such hidden rooms. After years of working amid dangerous and unpredictable conditions, Leonardo had seen his share of weird.

Then again, maybe this woman was some sort of female pervert, maybe she had someone held captive here against their will. Still, the feeling he sensed wasn't desperate as it was anxious, as if it didn't want discovery.

Suddenly, a whisper from behind him nearly caused Leo to jump.

"Hey, Leo…"

Leo growled under his breath as he whipped around to face his brother. Don's eyes held just enough mischief in them to say that he had clearly enjoyed his older brother's reaction, too. If anything, the smile on his face said so. In response, Leonardo gave a quick, cutting motion across his neck with one finger, offering a look that told his genius brother to '_shut the shell up'._

Don's eyes went wide but then he hissed, "Sorry…but…" and emphatically pointed to his wrist as if he had a watch strapped to it. He next hooked a thumb towards the forest side of the house, his voice remaining hushed, "Gotta go – _**now**_!"

Leo shook his head and pointed at the cabinet, mouthing, "Not yet!"

Donatello sighed, showing his brother one finger, indicating just how many minutes his brother could take to investigate. In reply, Leo smiled and held up three, begging for more time. Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Don then held up two, and Leo grinned, satisfied.

As Don leaned against the back of the second cabinet, his arms crossed in front him, and tapping his foot impatiently, Leonardo turned to stare at the cabinet again. He ran his hand along the underside of each shelf, hoping to find a trigger, something that would activate the opening sequence for cleverly designed door. When he was unable to find anything unusual, he next explored the framework, slowly dragging his fingers along the inside areas, anticipating some sort of inconsistency. Once again, he found nothing.

Then, he focused on the various items stored on each shelf. There were boxes, mainly, and he opened each one before removing it from its resting place. He would then look behind each container, hoping to find something that would indicate a switch or trigger, but found none. However, working his way up to eye level, where more boxes presented themselves, he attempted to slide the one right in front of him off its shelf to inspect it. The problem was it seemed glued in place. He tried opening it, but like its position, its lid remained secure. He tested a few more boxes on that shelf and found all of them loose and moveable, like the others on the lower shelves, which made the less cooperative box his focus. He ran a hand over its lid and along its sides, but Leo couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. It was as smooth as any box.

However, when he tried to lift the box from its shelf, instead of sliding it off - as he did with the others - he heard a click and then the unmistakable grind of a mechanism.

Leonardo smiled wide and quietly exclaimed, "Knew it!"

x x x x x x x

When Karai heard the locking mechanism activate in the door, she almost jumped in response, but then puffed out a breath of nervous irritation. Although she knew that the door would not open, not from the other side, knowing that they had found the door unnerved her just a bit. She had so hoped they wouldn't have found it at all. But, luck didn't seem to be her ally this time around.

Her breath quickened, now, and she turned to face the door full on, stepping back a few paces from the steel-enforced barrier. She looked around and nervously eyed her collection of swords, nunchukus, staffs, and other armament she had on display, the assortment a collection of artifacts she had found through the years. Mostly, she found them on either EBay or at antique shops across the country, and some she bought from collectors who fancied such items. She came upon them by chance, or by design if she could do so without revealing her identity, and kept them as one would any artifact. However, now she wondered if maybe she would have to employ one of them. They weren't just any weapons, either. They had to have a connection and a relationship to that life she once lived. She felt compelled to find them and squirrel them away and Karai had to admit that it certainly contradicted her new life.

"Guess only a psychiatrist would be able to unravel THAT mystery," she mumbled quietly.

Then, as she stared at the bladed uniform of her father, she wondered just why it was she felt the need to create this room in the first place. A dojo is one thing, but keeping it filled with reminders of the one who stole her? Maybe it was penitence. Maybe it was her way to keep her humbled, to give her a reason to be better than the sum total of …_this_, this suit of armor, this offensive, repulsive reminder of what her father wanted her to be.

And, so far, it had worked. Each visit would reaffirm Karai's decision to leave the Foot as the right one. Each time she came down here, she would remind herself why she had left. And each time she returned to the house above, she would leave her past behind, safely locked away in a room hidden from prying eyes. Because it was out of sight, it was out of mind, and because of that, it never challenged her; it never questioned Karai's choice to leave her clan. In the beginning, when she first moved here, her visits were more regular, but over the course of the past few months, those visits had diminished, her involvement with caring for her horse and the property taking up most of her time. Now, Karai realized that she should have kept to her training, and she knew that her negligence might soon be her undoing. As was the case with her father's pride, her collection would be the proverbial nail in her coffin, for how could she explain herself to the one outside in the basement. How could Karai justify her display of Foot paraphernalia to the one who had destroyed her father's world and the very one whose world her father's minions, _her_ minions, had destroyed in kind?

It was in that moment when Karai's integrity and her father's sense of honor became two worlds hurtling towards each other through space and time. Now, they would soon collide and with a velocity that, unless fate's hand intervened, would cause the universe to implode, she was certain of it.

As the person on the other side continued to work at the door, apparently determined to open it, Marie lamented_, Why didn't I just turn around when I saw them on the road and drive back to the house. They would have fled and I would not be here, and wrestling with a most unsettling decision. _

Yet, Marie knew that they would only return the next time she went off property. They would wait her out until she had to go to the store - or, invade her home in force. How long could she go without sleep? Certainly not forever.

And as the person in the other room continued to worry the door, Marie came to a decision. She knew what she had to do; it was the only way. Integrity and a new sense of honor, one different from her father's, demanded it.

x x x x x x x x

_**TBC**_

_**A/N – Sorry for the short chapter. I'm really trying to keep the energy going without exhausting my readers too much. :0) And, I'm trying to create some breathing room so I don't feel pressured. This was originally longer, but I decided to split it up. The next chapter needs some reviewing by me, but it's almost ready to post, too, only…I'm going to wait a bit before I do. Thanks for reading:0) **_


	14. Peek A Boo!

_**DISCLAIMER – **__Well, gee, another update from me. Go figure. As has been said so many times before, I don't own anything__other than the idea for the story and my OC's, which for now are the horse, Sudan, and Mr. Hamilton, the real estate agent. Oh, and the house…and… I think there's a few blue butterflies in that deal, too. _

**Chapter 14 – Peek-A-Boo!**

Leo was impressed with how well hidden the door latch was, but when nothing happened after he lifted the box, he frowned. He tried a second time and just like the first, the mechanism seemed to activate but then stop. He attempted a third try and that was when he felt Don poke his shoulder, quietly asking, "What are you trying to do?"

"There's a door here! I found it!"

"Good for you, but we need to get going, so, let's get out of here."

"No, I want to see what's behind the door!"

"I'd rather use a door that leads to outside, Leo," Don hissed softly, "Remember the story, The Tiger and the Lady? I don't want to be the lady, so let's…"

"One minute, Don, that's all."

"You're pushing your luck, bro!"

"Hey, I've lived this long pushing my luck, what's another minute."

"Held captive in this basement, that's what another minute…"

"She might be **ninja**, DON!"

That grabbed Don's attention for a moment and he shrugged, "Okay, so maybe she's had training…of sorts. Still, she might be a wannabe, you know that!"

"And YOU know that she was far too accurate nailing me with that shuriken to be a novice!"

Once again, Leo had Don's attention. After a moment, the brainy turtle nodded curtly, "Fine, but only one more minute – and I'm counting!"

Leo smiled and, with his brother's assistance, turned back to study the heavily laden storage shelf.

As the two evaluated the would-be door, Leo explained, keeping his voice to a low whisper, "The box is the trigger, it activates by lifting it up, and I can hear the system trying to work, but nothing happens."

"Might be locked."

"Locked, like...what…from inside?"

Don shrugged, "Sure, why not?" 

"That would mean that if she's keeping someone down here, it's not against their will, but how could she get in if she had to…you know…do so in an emergency?" Leo sighed, "She doesn't seem the type to create dead-ends for herself or anyone else she might care about."

"Probably there's another exit?"

Leo's eyes widened suddenly and he smiled, "Yeah! That noise you heard from the barn…"

Don rolled his eyes, "You mean the _mouse_ you said I heard? Guess I was right after all about someone in there!"

"Maybe there's a failsafe exit in the barn, one leading to the house by way of an underground tunnel. She might have had one installed, just in case of an emergency; that is if she had to get out of the house but couldn't through normal means." Leo hummed to himself, before adding, "It makes me wonder, now, who exactly this woman is."

"Since she's gone, that would imply someone else knows about it and was in the barn when I went in there or…maybe this woman didn't really leave the property." Don caught Leo's attention this time, "Maybe…she came back, used this assumed tunnel, and is now in the other room. But, didn't you say you saw her head for town?"

"I said I saw her drive towards the main road and I heard her accelerate her H3 soon after. I know she went off property; I just don't know how far."

The two stood there and pondered that thought and then Don asked, "What if she saw you? You said you encountered some problems getting to the road in time to see her and didn't have time to hide."

Leo grounded his teeth in self-irritation. That had to be it, he thought, even though he believed he had blended well with the shadows and such. Yet, if this woman were more than she seemed, if she indeed had training, just as Don suspected, then she would have had her driveway memorized. Anything out of the ordinary would stand out like a giant sore thumb…or turtle!

"Right, well, no need to discuss my journey towards senility, let's see about getting this door opened."

Don chuckled, though, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder, grinning, "You do know I'm going to have to tell Raph about this."

Leo glared back, "You know if you do…"

"Hey, it's well worth kitchen duty for a whole year, bro!"

"Yeah, you say that now. Wait until we die of food poisoning and then you'll be sorry."

Don smirked, "At least we'll all die together. Hey, you want me to go upstairs and check the barn area?"

"No. Like you said a moment ago, we're a little short on time." Leo faced the box again. "If whoever is on the other side decides to leave using that 'assumed' tunnel, I'll know; I'll sense them. Then, you can go and intercept them."

"Fine by me, but, are you sure there's someone in there?"

Leo nodded, "Yep, can't you feel them?"

Don frowned, raising one eye ridge, "Hey, you're the expert on that. You know me, I'm all about science."

"Well, trust me, there's someone in there and I'm not one for giving up…I'll try the box again but if it fails to open the door, I want you to compromise the system, okay?"

Don sighed, "Okay, if you insist."

"Given the swords hanging over the fireplace and the ninja star she threw at me…I insist!"

x x x x x x x

Hearing the third attempt on the door, Karai silenced the instinct to grab a weapon. Now was not the time to respond with violence. However, she squared her shoulders and tilted her chin proudly in defiance. She would do this and without self-pity. She had to; it was the only way. Karai could only hope that before the killing strike, she would have time to explain to her visitors that she was not the one who had killed their father. Of course, the chances were good that they would not believe her and if it still resulted in her death…well, at least she had lived the past twenty years above reproach. It was certainly more than what her father had done.

Resolutely, Karai walked back to the door. She hesitated only slightly before passing a hand over the console and then eased to one side, just in case they rushed in, weapons at the ready. As the four deadbolts pop from the door and back into the jamb, Karai took a breath. Releasing it slowly, she then allowed a small smile to grace her lips. Now, the woman waited for the one on the other side to realize that the locks had been disengaged.

x x x x x x x

As Leonardo pushed the box up for the fourth time and more forcibly, a different sound came from the hidden mechanism. It seemed more pronounced, more complete, and not as restrained as before. The gears now worked as if activating an opening mechanism.

Leo whispered a cheer, "Finally!" and stepped back in preparation.

Don did likewise, bringing his weapon up into position as his brother did his.

Suddenly, the storage unit vibrated softly and eased backwards from where it lined up with the others cabinets. A strong current of air whooshed out and then, without hesitation, the door opened, but only slightly, swinging inwardly just a crack towards the once-hidden room. With its left side affixed along what was now a doorjamb (and no taller than the cabinets themselves), it seemed secured to what Leo assumed was a hidden hinge. However, the scant sliver of light escaping through the crack from the room beyond wasn't enough. Eager to know what lay beyond the threshold, Leo took one of his swords and used it to give the door a quick, hard push. On silent, well-oiled hinges, the door opened wider. Now, sudden bright light poured into what was once a darkened passageway. The abrupt change caused Leo and Don to squint. In response, they stepped back from the opened door, weapons up. Their eyes adjusted quickly, however; credit their years of working in near total darkness. In the next moment, they could see the room's interior. Yet, before they could ascertain its contents, a figure suddenly stepped in front of them, blocking the doorway, and a portion of the light. At first, the person was unidentifiable, as they faced away from the room's illumination, casting their visage in dark shadow. Yet, the outline of the person haloed by the corona of light behind them said the figure was female. When Leo and Don's vision adjusted, they quickly recognized her as the very woman who owned the property. It was then when she spoke to them.

"Hello…Leonardo, Donatello. It is good to see you…again."

A moment of awkward silence followed before Don quirked one eye ridge, "Apparently, Madam, you have us at a disadvantage."

"Considering that I am weaponless, Donatello, I think not." She smiled at the purple-banded mutant and then looked straight at Leonardo. Offering him a brief bow of her head and keeping her eyes locked with his, she spoke to him and in a language foreign to the one she had used for the past two decades, and one that clearly surprised its recipient. "_I am honored by…your visit_." The woman's Japanese was flawless.

Leonardo stared intently at the woman and then, like a morning sunrise, realization dawned. Colors and shapes from his past brightened his memory. They replaced aging skin with young; graying hair with dark; and sharpened facial features from the rounded, fuller visage standing before him.

In a voice strained with disbelief and shock, Leonardo breathlessly uttered, **"K…Karai**?"

x x x x x x x

_**A/N:**__ Yes, I'm an evil writer. Another short chapter. Another cliffy. Another excuse to give me breathing room. Bwahahaha_!


	15. Revelations

_**Disclaimer –**__Yes, finally, another update.__Not sure if this is the p__en__ultimate chapter, but it finally brings __my__ trio of characters together.__ :0__) Hope__ it satisfies. __And__, as before, I only own __three __cats and one newt. No turtles here, thank you very much._

**x ****x****x****x****x****x****x**

**Chapter 15**** – Revelations**

Karai stood behind the threshold of the opened doorway, facing her visitors. With her back straight, she kept her resolve strong, but her expression passive. Years earlier and under similar situations, she would have postured herself more arrogantly. However, she was long past that, now.

Instead, a look of calm acceptance graced her face and she smiled warmly, reverting to English again, "Yes, Leonardo, it is I."

Shaking his head in confusion, Leo stuttered, his words rushing from his mouth like a turbulent spring, "B…b…but you…you should be _**dead**_; I…I KILLED you!"

Karai smiled a little more and gave an abbreviated bow of her head, "Leonardo, I am sorry, but…you did not kill _me_…" and then looked him straight in the eye, "You killed…my _double_."

Rage long ago satiated, suddenly resurfaced within the turtle. Visions of his father dying in Michelangelo's arms, blood pulsing from his sensei's chest wound, raced back to him. With an uttered frustrated cry, Leo lunged at the woman, his single ninjaken raised to strike her down.

Anticipating his response, Karai leapt out of the way, and barely missed catching the business end of Leonardo's weapon. However, before she could consider the turtle's next move, Donatello suddenly intervened. He brought his bo up quickly and slammed it down on top of his brother's sword, forcing the tip into the floor. Then, he stepped in front of Leonardo, "No, Leo, stop…it's over, it's been _long_ over, bro."

Leonardo hissed in reply, though, his voice strained with emotion, "I don't care how long it's been, DONNIE! Karai's responsible for Splinter's death. She gave the order!"

"I did not give any such order and, besides, you have already dispatched the one who killed your father," Karai remarked casually.

With a growl, Leo jerked his weapon free from the ground but he did not sheath it. He glared menacingly at the woman, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "LIAR!" he snarled and his face narrowed, "I was THERE, Karai! I saw what you did!"

Karai sighed, "Hiromi was a perfect double, Leonardo, and her training complete." She raised her chin a little, locking eyes with his, "Wearing my armor would have made her impervious to scrutiny – even to you."

The turtle snorted, stepping around his brother towards Karai, "Fine, so you had a double, but, you still sent her, you gave the order to attack us, and because of that, Splinter died. You are still responsible."

"As I said, I did not give any such order. Besides," Karai cleared her throat, "I sent Hiromi on a _suicide_ mission. She was not supposed to find your lair. I expected you and your brothers to find her first." She then expelled an annoyed breath, "Apparently, I underestimated her abilities."

Leo snorted in disgust, but it was Don who spoke up next, "What…do you mean by a suicide mission?"

As Don positioned himself again between his agitated brother and the woman, Karai replied, "Exactly what I said, Donatello; I needed for her to…die in my stead."

"Why?"

Despite the grating tone of Leo's query, Karai offered shy smile, "Why indeed, Leonardo." Still, she could tell that whatever she had to say, it would go unappreciated by him. His expression said that he would brook no mistruths. She could feel his rage increase, his pinched brow telling her that despite how much time had passed, that losing his father had been hard on him. Hell, it had been hard enough on her to lose her own parent when Leo killed him, yet Karai now had a different perspective about Oruku Saki. Maybe if he had been as honorable as the Rat had been…but she dismissed her thought. It was a moot point now.

Consequently, instead of trying to explain herself, Karai magnanimously spread her hands out in friendship, her palms up to imply her weaponless position, "Maybe we should go upstairs and discuss this over a cup of tea."

"DAMN your tea, you'd only try to **poison** us."

"I would do nothing of the sort, Leonardo. If Donatello would like to do the honors," she glanced at the turtle in question, giving a small nod of her head, "he can even pick the brand. I have several from which to choose. I am sure you will find one to your li…"

"I want **answers**, not a tea party!" Leo spat, trembling in rage, "Explain yourself." Suddenly, in the briefest of moments, from behind Karai, something caught Leonardo's attention. When he recognized what it was, new words, barely audible, tumbled from his mouth, "Wha' the shell…" and then his voice rose in pitch, "And _**this**_…" pointing his sword towards the offensive mannequin (Karai tried not to flinch), "is what? A tribute? A homage...to a monster who made our lives so…so miserable?" Leo glared in disgust at Karai, "You _worship_ him now? How…how _sic__k!_"

"No, not _worship_…" Karai tried to explain but Leonardo cut her off with a caustic laugh.

"Oh, really?" He said derisively and took a step to his right to get a better view of the gauntlet-clad suit of armor.

Don followed him warily and then glanced at what his brother was looking at. Suddenly his eyes widened at the reminder of their past. He stared incredulously at the mannequin as Leo continued his verbal assault.

"Let me guess," Leo laughed again, giving Karai a malevolently grin, "Shredder's suit behind glass makes it look better…or, how about this, you keep it to remind you of what a _great_ man he was."

"No, that's not it, **either**," Karai sighed impatiently.

"Then why in _**s**__**hell**_ would you display it like that, or even keep it at all?"

Don sighed and shook his head, but before Karai could answer Leonardo, he placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to draw his brother's attention away from the woman, "It's only his armor, Leo. It's not the Shredder!"

Leo shrugged it off, "Shut up, DON!"

"DON'T yell at me," Donatello snapped, "I'm not the one you want to kill."

"Then let me do what I do best, DONnie," and Leo charge towards Karai.

Once more, Donatello moved to intercept, bringing his bo staff down on top of Leo's sword, deflecting it to the floor again. Still, Don knew that Leo would succeed with his next attempt, so he begged, "Let her **talk**, Leo. Keep in mind that we're the ones holding weapons, not her!"

Leo gave a sideways glance at his pacifist brother, "You are _so_ correct, Donatello."

Karai saw Leonardo smile thinly. As his expression narrowed, her blood ran cold. Karai knew then that his next move would succeed in getting him passed Don and in the clear to cut her clean through with his sword.

Suddenly and fulfilling Karai's prophecy, Leo dodged to his left.

Don tried to match his brother's direction to intervene, but, before he could, Leo suddenly changed directions and went the other way. With the speed that only a master of ninjitsu could do, Leonardo sprinted around Don and bolted towards Karai, his sword swinging towards her head.

Instinctively, the woman leapt back to save herself but still found the tip of Leo's sword scraping across her midsection. As she felt the pull of her blouse, Karai braced for the pain she knew would come next, only…none did. In the briefest of moments, Karai realized that his ninjaken had only caught the material instead, splitting the shirt horizontally, with the bottom half falling away just enough to reveal her bare skin underneath.

Leo growled in frustration and Karai knew that his next attempt would not be so careless. She quickly turned and sprinted to where she kept her weapons, with Leo pursuing her.

Barely having time to free a weapon from its holder, Karai turned around to face him…and sucked in a startled breath.

Leonardo was already halfway through a downswing, his sword aimed to cut her in two.

Instincts took over.

Karai snapped her sword up horizontal to his vertical, just in time catching his weapon as it slammed into hers, the sharp shrill of metal against metal echoed in the room. She stepped back, nearly cowed by his strength.

Leo swore but then smiled when he saw how his impact affected her. He laughed, "You're out of shape, Karai!" He smiled wider when he saw fear in her face, "and it seems that this will be over quicker than I anticipated, too."

Before he could further his assault, Karai recovered, but her eyes went wider still when Leo pulled free his second ninjaken, his movement slow, deliberate…lethal.

She used to hold her own against the mutant, but that was years ago, when she was younger, more agile, and…had kept to her training on a daily basis. Now, though, she was as he said, very much out of shape.

Leo's then snarled, "Prepare for death, Karai!" and raised his ninjaken, ready to end her life with his next attempt.

Suddenly, Don's voice interrupted him.

"LEO, DON'T! This isn't New York! This isn't the sewers where you can just leave bodies lying around!"

Miraculously, Leo hesitated.

As Karai backed away from the enraged turtle and as Don yelled at Leo to stop, she wondered if maybe, finally, Leo would come to his senses.

_Maybe he is finally considering what would happen if he does kill me, _she thought hopefully, but the look on the mutant's face did not encourage her. Killing her would only bring trouble to his doorstep by the local authorities, though, that is if they found her body or if she went missing. After all, Karai made weekly visits to town, shopping for groceries and food for her horse, not to mention that she had her H3 parked up the road. Someone might discover it and then report it to the sheriffs as abandoned. Once they run a check on her plates, they would pay her a visit, only to find her gone. With Sudan still outside in his pasture, a few nights or a week out in the open would weather his coat to imply that something had happened to his owner. In that brief moment, Karai wondered if there would be enough grass in his enclosure to sustain him that long, that is until someone discovered him.

And, there was always the realtor to consider, too. Karai doubted that Mr. Hamilton wouldn't hesitate to offer her another opportunity to buy property. An unanswered phone call would not deter him, either! One visit to her house and with Sudan outside in the pasture and probably neighing in complaint for not having shelter, it would be enough evidence to imply that something sinister had happened. Once again, it would only lead to the authorities getting involved and then an all out hunt would begin. The closest neighbor, the Jone's farm, would be their first choice, and no amount of written threats of litigation would thwart such an investigation.

Yet, despite Don's loud objection to his brother's actions, the determined and focused expression on Leonardo's face told Karai that he had dispensed with such concerns. Immediately, the woman switched to defensive mode, and just in time, too, as the turtle shouldered his brother to one side. The force of Leo's action knocked Donatello off balance and as his brother gave way, Leonardo rushed towards Karai.

She backed up even faster than before, her sword held in front of her, ready to deflect Leo's next strike. She tried to keep a reasonable amount of distance between herself and the turtle as she pleaded, "Leonardo, please listen to me! I kept Saki's armor only to remind me of just how…how _close_ I came…to becoming _like_ him!"

Deaf to her words, Leo continued his charge, his swords raised in offense.

Karai dared not turn and run. A few steps behind her was the escape tunnel, but with the door closed and locked, Karai didn't know if she had the time to deactivate the mechanism to open it. That was when decided to stand her ground.

As Leonardo rushed towards Karai, he saw the woman stop and her position change ever so slightly. Her new tactics startled him, but he smiled anyway, anticipating a fight. He was going to enjoy this!

As he brought his swords into position, Leonardo readied himself to strike her down. That was when Karai's statement finally registered. With his left ninjaken angled in front of him to meet the killing end of hers and with his right raised high and back for the defining blow, her words stilled his advance. He stood there in mid-position, frozen in place with uncertainty.

After a moment and still keeping his weapons at the ready, he cautiously asked her, "What…do you mean, remind you? What…do you mean by that?"

Karai swallowed deeply and for the moment felt the briefest of relief. She locked eyes with his, "Twenty years ago, Leonardo…I discovered that you were right – about him, about…Shredder."

"Twenty years ago you had my father **killed**!" Leo spat venomously.

"We've already gone over that, and I'll repeat myself – I didn't do it. But, before that happened, I discovered a secret room hidden behind my father's chair in the main hall at the top of Saki Tower."

"Secret…room?" Don stepped alongside Leo, his curiosity piqued, his bo ready to intervene again if necessary, "what…kind of secret room?"

Karai's eyes never left Leonardo's and she explained, "A room, Donatello, where only my father went, a room that none of those in the Foot clan knew about when he was alive. I found it by accident. It was…a room…filled with _secrets_." Her voice softened considerably as she added with earnest, "And I was one of those secrets…Leonardo."

Leo's rage seemed to cool a little and he cocked his head slightly, studying her, assessing her eyes, their dilation, the blush of her skin, and her respiration.

Kari stood there and allowed his inspection. She focused on calming herself. _Breath__e__ in. __Breath__e out. S__low, easy, not too fast. __Keep your head, girl, no time to panic!_

When certain Karai was telling the truth, Leonardo nodded slightly and stepped back, but well outside of her reach. He wouldn't put it past Karai to lie, waiting for him to drop his guard. After one last visual assessment, he challenged her, "Explain!"

She kept it short and to the point, but over the next ten minutes Karai told Leonardo and Donatello what she had found in that secret room. Then, she told them that upon further readings in the days that followed, along with killing her parents, Saki had 'others' abuse her when she was but a helpless child. Only in his journal did he admit this, writing that the treatment would strengthen her. Of course, he never told her this and if not for reading his secret journal, Karai would still be none the wiser. She told the mutants she remembered that after the abuse how he would come to her, offering words of comfort and wisdom, giving her rare, reassuring hugs.

"He told me that this was why I could never trust anyone but him. He even promised me that those who had hurt me would pay for their misdeeds. But, what I read from his journal said otherwise…"

Karai learned that Saki paid her tormentors off and sent them away. He would then fake their burial ceremony by replacing them with someone else who had fallen out of favor with the clan, their identity obscured through the traditional death mask her clan espoused.

"Obscured in death as in life, that was the ninja way," she spat, "at least according to the Foot." Karai swallowed as she continued, "In any event, Shredder's ploy was simple psychological conditioning; its sole purpose to shape me into whom he wanted me to be. Having someone else to abuse me and then with my father coming to my rescue created a loyalty within that eventually blinded me to his evil." Karai expelled a long breath, "It was what kept me bound to him, even with all the criminal activity he practiced,"

"Well, it certainly worked, that much I'll give him credit for." Leo admitted.

Karai raised one eyebrow and nodded, "Indeed! But, seriously, when I discovered the truth, I wanted to throw up!" Karai sighed and shook her head, her face pinched with emotion, "Leonardo, Saki was everything you and your sensei tried to tell me he was…but at the time," she bit back a cry, "I could not believe you. It seemed too…out of character for the one that I called Father. When you…killed him, I felt more anger than I had ever felt before. I wanted revenge. I am certain that you can identify with me, where your father was killed, too." Karai suddenly paused when she saw the flash of angry heat return to the mutant's face. She bowed her head slightly and gave a quick apology in Japanese, then said in English, "I have no right to make comparisons."

Leo swallowed and nodded, his anger ebbing a bit more, "No, you do not, but…I understand, Karai. I think, anyway."

His facial lines slowly relaxed and as Karai let out another relieved sigh, she concluded with telling them about the walk through New York that followed her initial discovery, how she needed to clear her mind. When she came to the part where she found herself in the alley and surrounded by Purple Dragons, she noted a look of recollection grow on Leonardo's face. She smiled.

"I see that you remember the event."

"Yes, I do!" Leo's eyes were bright with recollection, "I thought it odd that a girl would choose to walk through such a dangerous part of New York like that. I sensed something about her, too – it felt…familiar." He shook his head, glancing at Don, "Raphael was right; there was more to the situation than just bad choices and timing."

"It was definitely a bad choice and timing, Leonardo," Karai quickly insisted, "I hadn't anticipated anyone there, certainly not anyone from the Dragons. They were supposed to be elsewhere, according to how we used them, but I was so troubled about my discovery that I did not know they were there until it was too late. I was distracted with my…discovery…hours earlier. I blame myself for that encounter; I should have been more aware of my surroundings."

"A ninja's first lesson." Leo gave a small smile.

Karai returned it in kind, along with another short, respectful bow of her head, "Indeed!"

"Why didn't you join the fight, though? Why did you keep yourself hidden under that coat?" Don asked.

For the first time since the two brothers had entered the dojo, silence reigned.

But, after a moment, Karai smiled wryly, "My hatred for you had cooled - somewhat. Knowing how right you had been gave me a better perspective about – honor and other things. Besides, what good would I have been? I had only a dagger for defense, compared to four, well-trained, and well armed ninja." She smirked when she saw another faint smile crease one corner of Leo's mouth, "And, I wanted to live long enough to experience the kind of life I've lived for the past twenty years. And, I've tried to live a good life, Leonardo." Karai chuckled lightly, Of course, until that night, I had never been a victim, before, and I thought it an interesting experience to find myself rescued, all things considered. I have to admit, I…rather enjoyed it at the time, playing the part of the damsel in distress!"

Leo smiled a little and then nodded slowly, as he asked, "So, what did you do, next? Did you leave the Foot then?"

"No, Leonardo, I had a lot to do to prepare for that day. A year later, after a year of fine-tuning Hiromi's training and sending her in my stead on practice runs with my soldiers – unknown to them, of course - I gave my double her first real and ultimately last mission. Before calling her to my room, I drank a special blend of tea that made me appear 'sick'. When Hiromi found me lying in bed, moaning, a bucket of my vomit on the floor next to it, I told her I had caught the flu, but I couldn't let anyone in the clan know about it." Karai smiled wryly, "With some clans, Leonardo, weakness in their leaders, no matter what the cause, can get that leader killed. Hiromi was my confidant. I had trained her in secret for many years. She trusted me and I her. She was someone whose loyalty was without reproach, someone like what I had become with Saki. Everyone else believed she was just my personal assistant, a handmaiden if you will. She kept her hair tied back and she wore simple clothing that hid her physique, so she did not cause anyone to assume I had picked her specifically to imitate me. When I felt she was ready, I sent her in my place. I ordered her to take my soldiers and use the latest information on your whereabouts to take you prisoner." Karai sighed deeply, then, "And, contrary to what you believe, she was not supposed to kill you. She was simply to capture you, though I was certain she would not succeed."

Leo's ire flared up once more. Suppressed anger edged his voice again and he spat, his hands gripping his weapons tighter, "And did you not include Splinter with that order?"

"It's a general 'you', Leonardo, it included your entire clan. However…" she shrugged, "Like I said, I expected her to fall in battle long before she reached your location. Given my clan's tradition of keeping even the fallen obscured from prying eyes, no one would question her identity. My armor would tell everyone that it was I who lay on the burial pyre and she would be cremated accordingly."

"But, surely they want to verify your passing..."

"Like I said, Donatello," Karai shook her head reproachfully, "Hiromi was a perfect double. Even her voice was similar to mine and behind the mask, she sounded even more so. For anyone to question that would mean death by the hands of my personal body guards."

"What about when everyone returned to headquarters. Certainly they would call for Hiromi…"

"That was my brilliant plan, Leonardo," Karai's eyes sparkled with mischief, "After Hiromi left, I drank the antidote to my tea, and was fully recovered within minutes. Then, I went about packing my one duffle of what little my attendant owned in clothes and personal items, leaving behind evidence that she had purchased an airline ticket for Japan. I stuck the itinerary between the mattress of her bed. With one corner poking out conspicuously, it appeared very much as if she had tried but failed to hide it. Then…" Karai gave a rueful sigh, "I left the Foot for good. Since I had sent out most of my soldiers to 'capture' you, leaving a skeleton crew to guard things back at headquarters, even the most inept fool could slip out without anyone noticing them. Before you had even crossed swords with my soldiers, I was at La Guardia International and by noon the next day, I was safe in my hotel in Sweden. It wasn't until years later when I learned what had happened that night in the sewers and even that information was sketchy at best. My informant was nothing more than a transient; a man once affiliated with the Purple Dragons, and he was drunk at the time when I talked with him. I highly doubt he would have even remembered his own words, much less to whom he spoke. And, Leonardo," Karai's face turned serious, now, "whatever is left of the Foot still believes I am dead. I didn't dare take a chance to inquire further, not even anonymously. The chances were good that they had Hiromi's name on a hit list and more than likely any inquiry about them or me would become suspect."

Leo studied the woman, his grip working around the hilt of his swords. He was greatly undecided about what to do, now. Every instinct told him to run her through, yet Leonardo could sense – a gift either of his mutation, his training, or both – that Karai was telling the truth. Her sincerity was without question; that much he could see. Nevertheless, a battle raged within, his instincts pushing him to kill her despite what he was sensing from her.

In contrast, Don had relaxed considerably and his shy smile seemed to say that he accepted Karai's explanation. He didn't need a scientific equation to know that the woman had rebuked Saki's heritage and the Foot. Just by her refusal to strike Leo back showed that she had changed. Given the little he had observed of her and from Leo's own reports during his past reconnaissance of the farm, Karai was a new woman all the way around, living a life far removed from the one that the Shredder had created for her.

Finally, Donatello gave a sideways glance to his brother and quirked one brow, "Well, bro, do you still want to kill her?"


	16. Convergence

_**Disclaimer –**Well, this chapter concludes my Tale With a Cat Attached. No epilogue to follow. And, as you've probably figured, it's not so much about a cat as it's what he brings together. As before…um, yeah, don't own 'em, that means the turtles and Karai. I still own Sudan, though, at least in print. :0) _

**Chapter 16 – Convergence **

The horse grazed contentedly, occasionally raising his head to gaze at the warriors dueling a hundred feet away. Currently, they were in-between maneuvers, weapons drawn, staring each other down. They stood there, several feet apart, inhaling, exhaling, their breaths even and controlled. It was a bold testament to their conditioning, as well as a statement to their stamina and training. As each assessed the other, their eyes locked and their expressions challenged the next move.

Suddenly, as if responding to a silent cue, they leapt forward simultaneously, weapons drawn. Swords sliced through the air like twin whispers, the flurry of lightening quick strikes created a metallic sound of chaffing steel, and pierced the silence. Then, the warriors fell away again to reposition themselves, to assess the other's next move.

The horse, however, could care less. He snorted in annoyance to the disturbance and swished his long, black tail. He swallowed his cud and then Sudan dropped his head down to rip yet another mouthful of grass from the turf. He chewed thoughtfully, giving one more withering glance to the pair of warriors. Finally, he shook his head and turned away to wander the yard as far as his tether would allow, grazing as he went.

Suddenly, one combatant leapt back to avoid their opponent's surprise move, a roundhouse kick that barely missed its target. "Hey, that's cheating!" they complained.

The other crowed, "HA! Can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen, Marie!"

"I will show you _heat_, Leonardo!"

Marie lunged for him, her weapon arced horizontally, her mouth a tight line of concentration. However, before her weapon could bite into his, Leonardo executed a forward flip, sailing clean over the woman and her ninjaken. He landed lightly behind her and pivoted, and then watched as she slipped on the grass in her attempt to correct herself. She quickly recovered, though, before going to ground, and then bristled when she saw him smile at her. Now, she stood there, glaring at him, quite annoyed. His smile widened further and then, suddenly, she growled and rushed Leonardo again.

Leo accepted her challenge and, once more, the convergence of metal against metal sang out.

Like two seasoned dancers, the pair executed maneuvers learned long ago in their youth. One ascended their weapon with a lateral swipe, while the other countered vertically, sharply foreshortening the first weapon's upswing before it could meet its mark. With only their swords giving voice to their kata, neither warrior grunted nor called out, but performed each move in silence, the way that they were taught.

Not too far away and leaning against the exterior wall of the house and his arms folded casually in front of him, Don watched with an amused grin. He stood next to the porch swing where Mike sat. Raphael bookended their youngest brother on the other side of the swing, one eye-ridge raised as he scowled towards the lawn. "So, odds on, Leo wins," he challenged.

"Nope, Karai. Um…I mean, **Marie**." Don quickly looked down at Mike and swallowed, concerned. When his youngest brother glanced up at him, Mike's face changed from vacant to something more…threatening. Hastily Donatello re-worded his statement, "_**Marie**_ will win," and then he smiled wide, cheering his voice a bit, "Isn't that right, Mikey? Don't you think _Marie_ will win?"

When he heard the second name, Mike's unsettled expression dissipated quickly, replaced with his normally blank look. He gave a small nod and went back to watching the fight on the front lawn.

"It's still…too weird, Don. Can't believe that Kar…um, I mean _Marie_ lives next door to us, even her place is miles away." Raph sighed and leaned against the backrest of the swing, "Never thought…anything like this could happen."

"Yeah, I know, but…"

"I mean, really, Don…it's just too bizarre," Raphael shook his head, "I'm still not…comfortable with _her_ livin' so close t'us, either."

"Raph, we've been over this a dozen times."

Raphael regarded his brother, his expression hard, his voice grating, "Don, what if Karai's just waiting for one of us…" and then he found himself interrupted by a sharp intake of air from Donatello. Raph squeezed his eyes shut and moaned, "Oops".

Mike turned to look at him this time. As before, his expression darkened, an angry scowl growing quickly on his face. When Mike tensed beside him, Raph cleared his throat and augmented his query, "What if _**Marie's**_…playing us for fools."

Suddenly, Michelangelo mumbled softly, distantly, "One can only be fooled if he's foolish," and his vacant expression returned once more. With one hand resting along the back of a sleeping Klunk, who nested in his lap, Mike whispered hauntingly, "Someone told me that once. I think…I think…I think I remember who it was. It was…a rat." He giggled abruptly, apparently amused with the thought, "A rat? Yeah, a talking rat!" Suddenly, Mike began to sing, his tenor voice clear and pitch perfect, "If I could talk to the animals, just think of it, conversing with a chimp in chimpanzee…"

Suddenly, the sound of clashing swords announced that the activity on the lawn had become more intense and so Mike quickly forgot what it was he was singing, in order to watch the altercation.

"Yeah, Mikey, couldn't have said it better m'self," Raphael chuckled.

The three turtles then sat in silence for a moment as those practicing on the lawn continued their sparring match. A few minutes later, Mike pointed, his voice almost childlike, "Raphie, who's that again?"

Raphael let out a longsuffering sigh and patted Mike's knee, "That's Leonardo, Mikey, our brother; and the woman is our…_friend_, a neighbor." His chest tightened, though. It seemed that Mike was slowly forgetting things, important things such as…Leo. _Next week it could be Don, or even me_, Raph thought ruefully.

"April?" Mike looked hopefully over at his big brother with large expectant eyes, the left side of his face oddly misshapen from his stroke, "April plays with swords, now?"

Although gladdened that Mike still remembered their old friend, Don smiled sadly, "No, not April, Mikey. The woman's name is…Marie."

A long pregnant pause followed as the two brothers waited for Mike to understand. Finally, he asked, "Is she…safe? I remember someone who was a…a **monster**…is she a monster?" His voice deepened threateningly, "I don't like monsters."

"Yes, she's…safe, Mikey. Marie is safe. She's not a… monster."

"But, you said…**Karai**," Mike scowled and his voice hardened around the name, just as bothered by it when he said it as when Don or Raph did.

As Don raised an anxious eye ridge, Raph replied hurriedly, "I made a mistake, Mikey. I was only thinking about Karai and forgot to say Marie's name."

"Don't think about **Karai**, Raphie," the warning tone in Mike's voice told everyone what he thought about her, "Karai's dead, Leo killed her. We don't think about the dead, especially a dead Karai. But…" and then his voice turned childlike and he moaned, "Splinter's dead, though, isn't he?"

Raph gave a sad nod and Mike added wistfully, "I think about him…sometimes. Why is that?" Mike looked up at Don, "Donnie, you know everything. Why is that? Why can't I stop thinking about Splinter? Isn't he the rat, the one who talks to animals?"

Don smiled a little, "You think about Splinter, Mikey, because…he was our father."

A huge, uneven grin nearly swallowed Michelangelo's face, then, "But how can a rat be our father, Donnie. We're turtles. And I thought you were smart." He shook his head and laughed, "Don, sometimes you're funny."

"Yeah, I guess I am," Don said sadly.

However, the battle in the yard once again distracted Mike and he turned away to watch the two on the lawn. He startled a little when Marie made a quick, sweeping motion with her weapon, the flat of her sword smacking Leo along his carapace, and surprising her opponent. Leonardo yelled an insult at the woman and Mike laughed, thoroughly amused. Don and Raphael joined in, too, and then their youngest sibling remarked glibly, "I didn't like that lady at first," and then his voice lowered a bit, "I wanted to cut her up into little pieces and bake her in a pie and eat her for dinner." He then growled, "I thought she was…the monster."

Raphael swallowed deeply and gave a sad shake of his head, remembering well how violent Mike had become when Marie first visited them. Although he hadn't blamed his baby brother for his reaction, Raph was just as surprised as Leo and Don were with how quickly he reacted. Even though Mike's affliction had affected his memory, it seemed that he hadn't forgotten everything about being ninja.

And Raph couldn't rightly say he was thrilled with Leo's insistence to make amends with the woman, either. Considering she represented those who had killed Splinter and then made the next year after that pure hell for the Hamato clan, Raphael didn't care one iota about Karai's change of heart.

_"Leo, she could'a joined the Salvation Army and spout Bible scripture, and I would still see her as lethal and unpredictable. What in shell are you trying t'do to us?" _

_All Raphael could think of at the time was what had happened to Mike that fateful night, two decades ago, when they lost their sensei. It was bad enough to lose their father, but Mike holding their master as the rat bled out, feeling his life ebb away, seemed to be the catalyst to the youngest member of the clan's eventual dementia. It didn't happen right away, of course, their new vendetta against the Foot keeping all four far too busy. Yet, it was after the last battle, the battle that had virtually destroyed the Foot, when Mike had his stroke, his grief and the stress of escalating their fight against their dreaded enemy far too great for the normally happy-go-lucky turtle. One stroke led to another and gradually, his mind crumbled. Now, he had only rare occurrences of mental clarity, and usually even then it lacked his well-known sense of humor. Losing Mike in the way that they did had changed Raphael, too. He was less impetuous and more in need of peace and quiet than ever before. Yet, truth of the matter was, all of them had changed, in one way or the other. _

_Nevertheless, despite his position on the matter, Raphael was intrigued with this 'new and improved' Karai. Yet, it still took quite a bit of pleading from Don and Leo to get him to meet with her, especially at her place. When he finally agreed, Raphael had only one condition. _

_"I won't see her, Leo, not unless I can bring my sai with me. I refuse to meet with this – kunoichi b-tch – unless I'm armed!" _

_"Fine, if that's what it'll take, but you won't need it, I promise." _

_Raph grinned, spinning his sai, almost anticipating and looking forward to a confrontation, "And if you're wrong, Leo, you do Mikey's bed sheets…for a whole month!" _

_Leo agreed, offering his famous grin that Raphael hated the most. It said he had won. _

_Nevertheless, while Don watched over Mikey, Leo led Raph through the forest to Karai's property. After talking with and listening to the woman tell her story, Raphael finally allowed her a measure of grace. Given what Saki had done to her in her youth, he understood why she had been so loyal to him and the Foot…and… now, why she wasn't. _

_Still, he wasn't one-hundred percent convinced, "If she so much as raises a hand inappropriately, I'll off her, Leo, no hesitation!" Raphael insisted on arming himself, too, whenever he would visit, but after several twice-weekly sojourns to Marie's farm and not once having to worry, despite anticipating some form of betrayal, he finally saw what Leo had tried to tell him. Marie had indeed changed. _

_Still, Raph had to complain, if only in jest, "And I was so certain I'd get a break from cleanin' up after Mike, Leo." _

_"Hey, if you're feeling overwhelmed, Raph, I'll do next week for ya." _

_"Naw, that's okay, He's my responsibility. 'Sides, Mikey hates anyone else doin' it." _

_It was after several weeks of entertaining her neighbors when Karai finally made her first visit to their farm. Michelangelo was initially unimpressed with her. His stroke-induced dementia kept him sedate and quiet. As it was, with the changes she had made to her face, Karai was for all practical reasons a virtual stranger to him, and so Mike treated her as if she wasn't even there. Before introducing her to him, though, they allowed him to adjust to her visit, treating her as one would a guest, offering her iced tea, and chatting for a while. Mike never looked her way, he seemed drawn into himself the entire time. _

_Then, when Leo decided to tell Mike who she really was, before he could explain Karai's transformation and what had happened to her, Michelangelo went ballistic. _

_Moving quicker than he had in years and catching everyone completely by surprise, Mike grabbed Raphael's partially filled beer bottle from the coffee table, taking it by its neck, and then slamming it to the floor. It broke near the bottom, spilling the brew, and created a jagged implement. With all the ferociousness of a rabid animal, Michelangelo then suddenly lunged at Karai, the sharp end of the near-shattered bottle aimed for her throat. _

_Before she could react, Karai found herself swarmed by his brothers as they moved in front of her to intervene. Leo pushed her away from their demented brother and forced her to the floor of the living room. Then, as Don tried to snatch the bottle from Mike, the jagged edge raked across his arm. Bleeding profusely, Don worried that the bottle had caught an artery, but it was just a flesh wound. He still had to bow out, though, and so Karai took him outside and away from Mike's line of sight. While the other two tried to disarm their enraged brother, Karai and Don went around the house, slipping quietly into kitchen to attend the cut. _

_In the living room, however, Mike continued to struggle against his brothers, screaming obscenities about Karai, and re-living that night when his father died. It took several minutes to calm him, but when he finally did, Raph had to carry his brother upstairs to his room, the demented turtle crying all the way. In the end, they had to sedate him. _

_It was a long while before they had Marie over again. Leo knew that, given enough time, Mike's dementia would reassert itself, and would forget who she was. Fortunately, he forgot things quite easily. It was then when they began using the name she had adopted for herself and, so long as they used it, Mike accepted her. _

As Raphael sat there next to his brother and thought back to how Mike had reacted towards Karai, he couldn't decide if he wanted Mike recovered or be fully succumbed to his dementia. _An' all this time I thought I was the hot head in the family_.

And the little sparring sessions that Leo insisted on having with their old enemy seemed to test the waters of fate where Mike was concerned, too. Although it had only been a couple of weeks since Leo first invited her over to workout with him, it was beginning to develop into a very bad idea. _How much longer can Mike sit here and not recognize her? Change or no change, certainly he can see who she is by the way she fights, _Raph mused worriedly. _Maybe those two should do their dueling elsewhere rather than here at the farm_. Then again, Raphael still had his doubts about her and so he wanted to be witness to it, just in case he was right about Karai. _Leo's getting soft in the head; maybe he's going nuts like Mike. _

As Mike sat there on the porch swing, he suddenly asked, effectively distracting Raph from his silent musings, "Didn't Marie have - another name?" A low growl rumbled from his throat, "What was it again?"

"Mike, don't worry about it," Raph hushed quickly and gave his brother's knee another pat, "She's just Marie," he sighed, looking up at Don, shaking his head. He caught his brother's eye and as Don glanced his way, Raph mouthed, "_Don't like this,"_ and indicated his head towards the two on the lawn.

Don walked around to the other side of the swing, where Raphael sat, and stooped down to whisper into his ear, "No more letting Mike watch them practice, okay?"

"Yep, couldn't agree more!"

"What'd you agree?" Mike asked innocently.

"Um, that Leo's getting his butt kicked!" Raph said quickly.

Mike snorted and barked a laugh, one edged with an all too-familiar lilt, like the way he used to laugh, before the stroke. Then he went silent again.

Suddenly, Klunk stood up from his resting spot and stretched, meowing, and Mikey's face erupted into a smile, "Hey, Klunkie, you hungry?"

As if in answer, the cat meowed a second time, then jumped off his lap, and trotted inside the house through the opened front door.

As Mike tried to stand up, Raphael gently wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulders, to keep him seated. Mike would probably end up feeding the cat pizza for dinner rather than dry food and fill his bowl with Raph's beer instead of water. "I filled his dish a while ago, Mikey," Raph assured, "he'll be fine."

Mike sighed, "Okay, Raphie, if you say so," and then he went back to observing Leo and Marie. After a few minutes of watching them, Mike asked, "Is Leo fighting or are they just having fun?"

"Fun, Mikey, they're just having fun." Don replied softly and Raph squeezed his little brother's shoulder again.

"I like having fun," the youngest turtle smiled lopsidedly, "I want to stab her over and over and…"

"Anyway," Raph interrupted softly, pulling Mike into him and quelling his brother's disturbing words. He looked up at Don, whispering, "Don't think this is a good idea, Donnie. I don't care how much she's changed, physically or otherwise. There's always that chance…"

"Raph, with all the times she's visited these past two months," Don replied, his own voice softened, "don't you think that something would have happened by now?"

Raph finally sighed, "Well, yeah, I guess. But it's still – dangerous…if not of her, then because of – our brother here." He rubbed Mike's head and then continued to watch as the two on the lawn as they practiced, with Mike next to him, silent now, his face as impassive as before, his loquacious moment gone, overwhelmed by his dementia. His eyes had a vacant expression, as if he was…somewhere else entirely.

Once more, the ringing of clashing weapons sounded, drawing everyone's attention to the two fighters again. The pair was now having a war of words as they threw insults at each other, while two members of the 'audience' grinned in amusement.

"That's the poorest excuse of a tsuki."

"Hey, whatever works, Leonardo. Besides, you were cheating and that forced me to improvise."

"I did not cheat!" Leo insisted as he deflected Marie's sword as it came at him.

"Did too!" she grounded her teeth and pressed the issue, forcing Leonardo to take a step back by executing two swift replies with her ninjaken.

Leo pivoted away, though, and effectively avoided her weapon, "All's fair in love and war," he declared, grinning, and successfully parlayed another series of strikes by his opponent as she continued her assault.

"Who said it's either?" Marie snorted, then grinned victoriously when she forced him back three steps. So far, she was winning, and then Leo would have to pay up.

Suddenly, Leo moved to his right and executed a flourish with his ninjaken, and Marie tried to follow suit, to match his direction, deflecting his weapon. Abruptly, he changed directions, dodging left.

Unfortunately, she hadn't anticipated his changeup and by the time she realized her mistake, it had effectively left her wide open.

And, Leo took advantage of it, too!

Before she could react, Marie found her legs swept out from under her, forcing her to the grass with a muffled 'thump', with Leo's weapon at her throat almost immediately.

"I win!" he declared.

"Only because you tripped me!" Marie tried to kick Leo's legs out from under him as well, but he jumped clear of her attempt.

Landing nearby, "Unless I'm mistaken," he laughed, "it's called ninjitsu. Which means, anything goes." He looked down at her, his smile still plastered on his face, and then went over to offer a hand to the woman.

Brushing it away, Marie snapped, "I don't need help getting up." When she tried to right herself, though, a sharp pain ripped up her backside, "Ouch!"

"You okay?" Concerned, Leo stooped down next to her and slipped an arm behind Marie's shoulders for support.

"I said," the woman snarled irritably, shrugging from his offer, "I can get up on my…" and then she grimaced, "Ow…"

Next thing she knew, Karai was in Leonardo's arms as he lifted her up off the ground. "You're hurt," he declared, concerned, and then looked down at where Marie had just lain a moment earlier. He shrugged, smiling wryly, "Or, you landed on a rock."

The woman followed his gaze and noticed the stone, right where she had been, before Leo picked her up. When she turned back around to him again, Marie found her face uncomfortably close to his. Suddenly, she was squirming out of Leonardo's embrace, "Put me down…NOW!" She gave a worried glance towards his family on the porch and hissed under her breath, "or you'll give your brothers something to gossip about."

Leo smiled and released the woman, standing Marie in front of him, "Now, why would I do that?" he smirked.

Scowling, she chided, "You need a _hobby_, you know that?"

"I thought I had one…"

"Sparring with me is not a hobby, Leonardo."

"No, I guess it's not…but it certainly is…my pleasure!" Leo smiled wide and bowed.

"Smart ass."

"I thought so," and he laughed.

"Hey, lovebirds," Raph called out, "you done for the day, cuz we're hungry."

"Raphael, you had better watch your mouth!" Marie offered a withering glare at the turtle, "we're just…friends."

Raph chuckled, "Yeah, like Romeo and Juliet!" and then flinched to the right when a ninjaken flew towards him. Fortunately, in that same moment, Klunk hopped onto Mike's lap, distracting him from Marie's reaction, otherwise it would have been anyone's guess with how the afflicted turtle would have responded.

Nevertheless, Raph still sat there, stunned – and quite relieved, too. The ninjaken had missed him – deliberately, of course - and was now lodged into the wood siding of the house just inches to his left. As it wobbled up and down from the impact, Raph eyed the sword, and then looked over at Marie, who stood there on the lawn, an impish smile on her face. "Okay, okay," he implored, hands up in surrender, "You win," and then Raphael urged Mike up from the swing. "Your 'just' friend." He then pulled his brother up from the swing, effectively dumping a confused Klunk to the floor, "Com'on, bro, let's go inside and get some grub."

"I like food, Raphie, not worms."

Raph rolled his eyes, "Okay, food it is, Mikey," and then Mike obeyed as he moved towards the door. As Raph herded his brother inside the house, he mouthed to Don, "See, still dangerous!"

"Hey, so's your mouth, so do as the lady says and watch it!"

"I'll watch it, all right, but you watch m'back, 'kay?"

"I'd rather watch her, she's prettier."

"Should I be jealous?"

"You desperate?"

Raph laughed, "You wish!"

Don bopped him in the arm and the two laughed, and then followed Mike and his brother into the house.

Leo watched them leave and then turned and grinned at Marie, "And, because I won, it's your turn to cook!"

"I thought it was your turn."

"I said I would cook if you won – but you didn't, so you get to cook."

Marie huffed, "But, you cheated, we weren't supposed to use kicks or anything like that. We were practicing kendo."

"You're just a sore loser," and before Marie could counter Leo's comment, he added, "Ninja should be ready for anything and you, my dear, are – out of shape!" He laughed and then turned, quickly sprinting for the house.

"Hey," Marie complained, chasing after him, "I am NOT out of shape, you _cheated_!"

"You still have to make dinner!" he called back cheerily.

"Fine, then," she smiled evilly, "It's…mac 'n cheese tonight," and Marie chuckled at Leo's groan, knowing how much Leo hated it.

As the two made it to the porch in tandem, Sudan looked up from where his owner had tethered him. Ears pricked forward, he called out with a long sustained whinny, as if reminding Marie that he, too, was hungry, but she ducked inside the house anyway and disappeared. When she didn't come back out, the stallion snorted unhappily. He stared a while longer, but when nothing but an empty porch stared back he dropped his head to the ground again to graze. He wandered as far as his lead would let him and then, suddenly, Sudan found a new mound of clover! He nickered happily, quickly ripping the multi-leaved weed from its roots, and chewed as if he'd found a stash of carrots. Soon he forgot about Marie, Leo, and the others, his mind and his nose more interested in searching for more of his favorite snack, and for the moment…content.

**THE END! **

X x x x x x x

_A/N – For those who need to know, **tsuki** is the name applied to a throat thrust or hit. __In the case of Leo and Marie (Karai), she feigned the attempt…for obvious reasons. _

_Anyway, there it is, my take on what would happen if…Karai truly discovered how evil The Shredder had been and what would she have done about it. Now, I know that some readers might say that, right or wrong, Karai would have remained loyal to Saki and the Foot clan, the dictates and precepts of her heritage stronger than her moral core. Yet, we all know how skewed the Shredder's precepts were, as well as his moral core, so, yeah, it asks the question. In any event, taking this perspective twenty or thirty years into the future might give us a different Karai, a different Leo, or Don, or Raph. Certainly, it gave us a different Mikey – poor guy. I might actually explore how he came to be so…afflicted, too. But, for now, this story is finis. _

_And a big thanks for reading and for all who reviewed, a big hug from me. Given the light inclusion of the turtles, your encouragements kept me a'writin'. :0) _


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